At the beginning of December of the fourth year of Shaoxi, Ye Qing began to withdraw from Yanzhou as the last army, and after a long talk with him on the embankment of the Yellow River, the gods and slaves of Qishilie also led the rest of the Jin soldiers and began to withdraw troops from the North Hedong Road to return to the dynasty, and the battle between Song and Jin, which lasted for more than half a year, finally ended completely.

This war can be said to be a side without a victory, but there is also no losing side, although Ye Qing won most of the territory of the Xia Kingdom because of this battle, but also because of the containment of the Jin people, he also paid the opportunity to let Shi Miyuan and Han Yanxuan intervene in the officialdom of the north.

Therefore, under the trade-off, in this battle in which Mongolia, Song, Jin, Xia, and Liao inevitably participated, Ye Qing was far from being the biggest winner in this battle.

The death of Liao and Xia obviously became the losing side, and the Jin State stood still, obviously not the victorious side, but in the end, it was able to rely on the army to suppress the border, forcing Ye Qing to take the initiative to negotiate peace, although in the end did not achieve any substantial benefits, but it somewhat preserved the face of the Dajin Kingdom as the suzerainty over the years.

It's just that with the founding of the Mongols and the counterattack of the Song people, now everyone knows that the Jin State is no longer as strong as it used to be.

The death of Liao and Xia made the situation of the coexistence of the five countries in the original Chinese territory begin to undergo a fundamental change, and the competition between Mongolia, Jin and Song will also become the main theme of the next.

It's just that no one knows now who will be the final victor in the next Chinese course that will go down in history. Who dominates the ups and downs of China and who will win the Central Plains is still a big question mark.

The strength and advantage at the geostrategic level made Ye Qing able to lay out ahead of his opponent with ease, and even lay out a long-term situation that was difficult for others to match, but with the current historical trajectory completely deviating from the original route, Ye Qing could only rely on his own strength in the Northland and the teacher-student friendship with Yan Jing, and there was no advantage.

Temujin's wolf ambitions, with the conquest of the Liao State have become known to the world, as Ye Qing's real opponent who has long been known, Ye Qing can still rely on his innate cheating advantage to avoid repeating the old path of the Song Dynasty and allied with the Mongols to fight Jin.

And if he wants to really join forces with the Jin people to fight against Mongolia, Ye Qing still faces huge resistance, whether it is the imperial court, Shi Miyuan, or Han Yanxuan, they will never give up this excellent opportunity to attack Ye Qing, which makes it difficult to achieve the desired intimacy between Ye Qing and the Jin people.

But fortunately, Ye Qing didn't have to worry about some of the armies and officials in the Northland in the past, after all, with the victory of Zhengxia, there was no one in the Northland who could compare with him now.

War has always been the easiest and most direct means of plundering wealth, and it is also the best way for rulers to gather power, increase strength, and establish absolute prestige.

At the beginning of escaping from the battle of Guanshan, Ye Qing knew very well in his heart that the reason why Beidi was able to break through and conquer the city in the territory occupied by the Jin people was not all because he withstood all the pressure from the imperial court, so that the Song army was able to regain so many lost territories in a very short time.

The reason why all this can be achieved today is obviously very related to the hatred of the soldiers of all walks of life for the Jin people, and it is not entirely because of Ye Qing, a general in the north.

Ye Qing is extremely self-aware, and he clearly knows his status in the Northland, and the influence of the armies in all walks of life, before the summer conquest, the reason why he was able to unite all the people in the Northland was entirely because of the "enemy" of the Jin people, which invisibly helped him win over a lot of cohesion, so that he could enjoy a high prestige in the Northland.

And now, with the victory of the first battle of Zhengxia and the resistance to the Jin people in Yanzhou, the word Ye Qing has been completely imprinted in the hearts of the soldiers and people of all walks of life in the north.

Now Ye Qing can also shout arrogantly: The northern land is his Ye Qing's northern land, the territory he single-handedly defeated, and it has nothing to do with others.

It can finally be regarded as done, when it comes to the Northland, the first reaction in people's minds is the word Ye Qing, and his personal prestige and imprint are finally completely above the imperial court in the Northland, and the Northland Territory has become his private territory.

Starting from Yanzhou all the way south to Jingzhao Mansion, and passing through the state government office of Hetao 3rd Road again, at this time, Hetao 3rd Road in just half a year, through the war with Jin, the officialdom once again experienced the adjustment of the appointment and dismissal of officials, most of the remaining officials of the Jin State, also returned with the failure of the Jin State, and finally completely lost the recapture of the Hetao 3rd Road for the Jin State

Wish.

Just as the remnants of the Song Dynasty were ruled by the Jin people, the long-awaited Nanwang Wangshi regained the lost territory, but what they waited for was the news of the defeat of the Song army's Northern Expedition one after another, and finally bowed to reality, some people and some officials on the third road of Hetao, after experiencing the disappointment of the defeat of the Jin people again and again in the past six months, finally recognized the reality clearly, and began to have to accept the fact that they were Song people, not Jin people.

The beginning of the battle of Zhengxia made many people with ghosts in their hearts ready to move, and the Jin soldiers came to Yanzhou, which made everyone's hearts full of expectations, but they were repelled by the Song army again and again, and returned again and again in vain, consuming not only the lives and wealth of the Jin soldiers, but also the confidence of some people and officials who were waiting for the Jin people on the three roads of Hetao and even the entire north.

Ye Qing, who withdrew his troops through the Hetao Sanlu Prefecture Office, finally felt the breath of the Song Dynasty or the Northland emanating from all roads in the state capitals this time, instead of the Jin Country breath that was still wafting everywhere when he passed by half a year ago.

This is a feeling that cannot be seen or touched, but it is so real that it makes people feel real and real, the few remaining officials who were used by Ye Qing and Bai Chun to kill chickens and monkeys at the beginning were naturally unable to escape their established fate in wartime, but after a short period of turmoil, after Liu Minxing and the two brothers, as well as Zhao Shichun, the Duke of Chongguo, stayed in Hetao Three Roads for a short time to appease the people, everything began to develop in the ideal direction.

Of course, passing through the state capital of the Sanlu Government Office is not all the news that makes Ye Qing happy, the people's peace and contentment, steadfastness and stability, although Ye Qing smiled with satisfaction, but now the shortage of officials in the Sanlu officialdom is also a headache.

Half a year of war and the adjustment of officialdom, appointments and dismissals, so that there are not a few officials who have been dismissed and imprisoned, but in addition, there is not much new force injected, which also makes the officials in the Three Roads Land somewhat overstretched and insufficient.

"My lord, in the current situation, only the reopening of the imperial examination can solve this problem, if you blindly rely only on the transfer and adjustment of other ways, it is not a way after all. Officials, like crops, always rely on local seeds to multiply after cutting off a stubble, otherwise it will only put the state capitals in a bad situation of not adapting to the soil and water. Liu Minxing sent Ye Qing and the flower planting army all the way to the border with Jingzhao Mansion, only to look at the endless loess land, endure the cold wind blowing in the face and said: "Taxes and so on, the lower officials and others can completely follow the tax law and criminal law of my Great Song Dynasty, but this official, especially those who are ninth, eighth, seventh, and sixth, if they are all transferred from all over the country, they can only solve the urgent need. ”

"Yes, whether it is a transfer or a dispatch, even a recommendation is not a long-term thing, let alone the key to solving the problems of officials at all levels along the way, the imperial examination must be included in all walks of life after all." Ye Qing nodded, and his body was still wearing the black fur that Wan Yan Jing gave back then.

"My lord, there is a sentence that the lower officials don't know if to say ......."

"You say yes." Ye Qing nodded thoughtfully.

"My lord, the lower officials know that under the whole world, it is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister. Although the north is also the territory of my Great Song Dynasty, it is ....... Liu Minxing looked at Ye Qing's peaceful face a little nervously, and then continued to say cautiously: "But the roads in the north are different from the roads in the south of the Yangtze River in the imperial court after all, no matter what, there are still some differences. The lower officials thought that it would be better to build the capital and protect the government with Jingzhao Mansion as the head, or to follow the current state capital, but in this way, whether it was the township test of the Ministry of Rites or the provincial test of Shangshu Province, the northern land could not be bypassed, so it was naturally inappropriate. ”

"What do you mean?" Ye Qing was slightly surprised in his heart, but he still continued to ask calmly without revealing his face.

This is exactly the question that I have been hesitating about, it is naturally a good thing to open the imperial examination, but how can the northern land be able to take the imperial examination independently? And if you go alone, then the hat of rebellion and self-reliance will really be buckled on your head.

The reason why officials from all walks of life have always been transferred and sent is because they can avoid all kinds of lengthy procedures in the imperial court, so as not to give others the opportunity to meddle in the officialdom of the north.

In addition, the northern land is a lost land to be recovered, and Ye Qing has always been able to dispatch, appoint and dismiss officials at all levels in the northland in the name of war. But now, with the death of Xia and Liao, the northern land has also negotiated peace with the Jin people, and when there is no war for a while, Ye Qing has to rely on the imperial court if he wants to straighten out the rule of the entire northern land.

And even in the war, he has never bypassed the officials for the promotion of officials from all walks of life, although it doesn't mean much whether the officials agree or not, but this is different from the imperial examination after all.

After all, the imperial examination is a platform for literati to provide a career path, and literati

When a scholar first enters the officialdom, where will he look at the direction of the wind like a veteran of officialdom? In the hearts of these rookies who have just entered the official career and have just entered the officialdom, which one does not put loyalty to the court in the first place? Which one would think about participating in the party struggle from the very beginning of his tenure as an official, or thinking that he would rise step by step, and eventually become a hero?

Obviously, this is something that cannot happen to rookies who have just entered the officialdom, so once the imperial examination is opened in the north, it is inevitable to bring in the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Shangshu and other government offices, in this way, Ye Qing's influence in the north may not be affected for a while, but after three or five years, once a scholar gets ahead, then the originally monolithic northland will fall into the predicament of officialdom being divided and the people's hearts are uneven, so as to give others more opportunities to take advantage of. Even from now on, Ye Qing will be attacked by it, questioned by those officials, and thus attacked by others, and may even lose complete control of the Northland because of this.

This is not in the interests of the Northland, and naturally it is not in line with Ye Qing's requirements.

Seeing Ye Qing's expression as usual, Liu Minxing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, it stands to reason that these should not be things that he should worry about as a state prefect, but things that only big people like Ye Qing should worry about.

But no matter what, if it weren't for Ye Qing's kindness of knowing and promoting, he Liu Minxing and Liu Minxue would not have such a high position as they are today, and now they may still be in the corrosive officialdom in the south, doing the walking dead day after day.

Of course, the most important thing is that their Liu brothers are also very aware of the delicate relationship between the north and the imperial court, and they also know that now the two brothers have already been imprinted with a big leaf label on their foreheads by the imperial court and other officials in the south, so whether it is out of consideration for their careers or out of loyalty to Ye Qing, at this critical moment, the only thing they can choose is to unswervingly follow Ye Qing to stand tall.

Liu Min moved his lips, and then said cautiously: "When Emperor Taizu first established the country in my Great Song Dynasty, he actually faced a situation that was not much different from the current northland, and at that time, Emperor Taizu finally made a single stroke of the imperial pen and achieved a single one after referring to the list of one hundred and six people carefully screened by the ministry. ”

"Enkojinshi?" Ye Qing frowned slightly, but his expression did not show the slightest displeasure, only a blush left by the cold wind.

"Yes, the lower officials think that you can completely follow the example of my officials when the Great Song Dynasty was just founded, and the officials did cheap things when they were overstretched. Naturally, the imperial examination in the north is only open to the township examination, and this is also within the scope of the rights of the state capitals, and as for the provincial examination, it is not necessary, the township examination is carried out by the double scientific examination, and the provincial examination is carried out, and then the adults screen and test the school again, and make a list to play in the Shengshangju Enke, so that the situation of the officials in the north can be solved. Liu Minxing looked at Ye Qing with a look of his words, and said extremely cautiously.

This method was something he thought about for a long time, and after not knowing how many days and nights he deduced, he finally mustered up the courage to say it when Ye Qing was about to step into Jingzhao Mansion.

He believes that in this way, the imperial examination in the north can completely bypass the many government offices of the imperial court such as the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Rites, and Shangshu Province, and not give others the opportunity to meddle in the officialdom of the north, and then solve the situation of the overstretched officials in the north, and most importantly, it can also make Lord Ye not subject to his opponents above the court, such as: Shi Miyuan and Han Yanxuan, the two biggest opponents of Ye Qing.

Looking at Ye Qing, who was moved and thinking about his method, Liu Minxing continued: "It is now December 9 of the fourth year, and it will be the first day in a few days, and after the first day, it will be just the first day, and after the first day, it will just be possible to open the imperial examination. ”

"Who else knows about this?" Ye Qing nodded and asked seriously.

"Back to my lord, only you know." Liu Minxing paused and continued: "But if this matter is to be carried out, I am afraid that the adults will need to temporarily carry some bad statements on their shoulders, such as the initial incomprehension and complaints of those literati who know everything about the imperial examination, and the impeachment of the imperial court for the imperial examination in the north, etc....... ”

Liu Minxing's implication is that this move can only solve the urgent need, but it is also like walking on a cliff, and a person who is not careful will have the possibility of being crushed, and will be detained as a rebel and self-reliant.

Of course, as Liu Minxing said, if Ye Qing can withstand the pressure and deal with it to a certain extent, then all this can completely bypass the imperial examination laws of the imperial court, claiming that a set of imperial examination systems suitable for the northern land is much smaller than going through the various ministries and offices of the imperial court, etc., especially for Ye Qing's influence and prestige in the northern land, as well as the control of the northern land, there are naturally all advantages and no disadvantages.