In August of the sixth year of Beiding, Yang Congyi ushered in an old man who had not been seen again for many years in Jinan Mansion, Xin Qiji.

"Since Bozhou, I haven't heard from you for many years, how are these years?" Yang Congyi asked very kindly with a smile on his face.

"There is Lord Lao's concern, the lower officials are fine, and there is no big problem." Xin Qiji, who had just entered the house, was a little restrained.

"As far as I know, you are from Jinan Prefecture, how do you feel about returning to your hometown now?" Seeing that the other party was reluctant to say more, Yang Congyi changed the topic.

"When Xiaguan left Jinan, Jinan was smoky, the people were poor, and they were dilapidated everywhere, but now when they come back, the weather has changed greatly, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the market is a prosperous scene, which is stronger than many towns in the south of the Yangtze River." Speaking of this, Xin Qiji replied very sincerely, and his eyes were full of relief and approval.

"Jinan is the old land of the Great Song Dynasty, and after the recovery, the imperial court has made no effort here. Since you're back, if you have time, go out for a walk, and maybe you can find old acquaintances. ”

"I'm afraid it's rare to know the old people, either died in the war, or moved away, besides, things are people, there is a difference between the past and the present, don't look for it." Xin Qiji didn't want to talk about the past anymore, and he didn't want to look back on the past, after all, the previous life was not happy.

"Also, the old man is hard to find, so it's okay not to find it." Yang Congyi nodded, and then said: "I want to know, after the farewell of Bozhou back then, are you continuing to be an official, or are you trapped in the mountains?" ”

Xin Qiji replied respectfully: "Xia Guan has been traveling to Jiangnan to be an official in various places all these years, if it weren't for the adults to send someone to Jiangnan to find Xia Guan, Xia Guan might have to live in the mountains and rivers of Jiangnan, idle every day, and spend time empty." ”

"Hahaha...... I know that you have great ambitions, and I have specially appointed people to look for you and come to the north to make contributions. Yang Congyi laughed.

"Forgive the presumptuousness of the lower officials, I don't know what the arrangements are for the lower officials to come?"

"It seems that you are really going crazy in Jiangnan. There are changes in the north, and there will naturally be important things to explain when I come to you. Yang Congyi paused for a moment, and then said, "Can your family be arranged?" ”

"My wife and children are still in Jiangnan." Xin Qiji didn't know why the other party had this question, but he still replied respectfully.

"It's not proper, let's take Bianjing, and the court will take care of it."

Yang Congyi still didn't explain the reason immediately, although Xin Qiji had doubts, he didn't ask, but just replied: "I will send a letter and ask their mother and son to come to Bianjing." ”

"Jiangnan is very far away from Bianjing, I will send someone to pick it up, so as not to have any accidents on the road, after receiving Bianjing, I will arrange it."

"Thank you, sir." Xin Qiji had no objection and raised his hand to thank him.

The two drank a few sips of tea, and then Yang Congyi asked, "If the Great Song Dynasty wants to launch the Northern Expedition again, where do you think to take it first?" ”

Hearing this, Xin Qiji was startled, and after pondering for a while, he replied: "Such a major matter should not be said by the lower officials, since the adults asked the lower officials, and the lower officials happened to know something about the affairs of the north, so they dared to say a thing or two. ”

Yang Congyi approved, but was speechless.

I only heard Xin Qiji: "When he was a teenager, Xiaguan once traveled around Hebei with a sword, so he learned that the north of the Daimyo Mansion and Jinan Mansion and the Yanjing area were a vast plain. In such an open area, it is conducive to the cavalry galloping and charging, so in the battle with the Jin people north of the Yellow River and Jishui, the Jin people with a large fleet of cavalry will always have the advantage, and the Song army with war horses is passive everywhere. Although the Great Song Dynasty now has the Daimyo Mansion and captured the Hejian Mansion, it has not fought a head-on battle with the Jin army of Zhending Mansion, and should not have the ability to fight them head-on. Xiaguan thought that it was not advisable to attack directly to the north from Jinan Mansion, Hejian Mansion and Daimyo Mansion, even if they could seize a few cities and a few places, as long as the main force of the Jin army in Zhending Mansion was not destroyed, no matter how many cities were captured, they could not hold it, because their cavalry could run long distances at any time to attack the Song army's grain and grass supply troops. Therefore, Xia Guan suggested that the adults should not concentrate the main forces of the Song army in Jinan Mansion and Hejian Mansion, so as to launch the Northern Expedition, which is likely to be a waste of national strength. ”

Yang Congyi nodded slightly, without interrupting.

"The lower officials thought that if they wanted to take Zhendingfu and Yanjing, they must first take Luzhou and Liaozhou. As far as the lower officials know, to the west of Zhending Mansion and Yanjing, less than fifty miles is a mountainous area. It was difficult for the Jin cavalry to launch an offensive in the mountains, while the Song army had many infantry and could pass through the mountains and forests. If the Song army seized Luzhou and Liaozhou, and then the army used the cover of the mountains and forests to quietly appear under Zhending Mansion or Yanjing City, the advantage of the Jin army's cavalry to quickly maneuver and rush could not be brought into play, and they could only confront us under the city, and then wait for the arrival of reinforcements from Daimyofu, Jinan Mansion and Hejian Mansion, if the Jin army did not surrender, it could only be trapped in the city. Of course, after seizing Chuzhou and Liaozhou, it is not necessary to attack Zhending Mansion and Yanjing immediately, and Taiyuan Mansion and Pingyang Mansion in the west are also worthy of priority attack. These two provinces are located between Guanzhong and Datong Mansion, as long as these two provinces are taken, hundreds of thousands of Jin troops in Guanzhong will definitely be trapped to death, except to surrender, or to flee north through Western Xia, there is no other way to go, so that you can easily take the land of Guanzhong several roads. Of course, after seizing Taiyuan Mansion and Guanzhong, you can also plot against Datong Mansion, cut off the connection between Datong Mansion and Zhending Mansion, force the Jin army to surrender, or go north to Yanjing, then Zhending Mansion can go down without a fight, and finally integrate forces to approach Yanjing, and it is only a matter of time before Yanjing is recovered! ”

After Xin Qi finished talking, seeing the look on Yang Congyi's face, he knew that he was a little arrogant, but the words had already been said, and it was impossible to take them back, so he could only be annoyed.

Who knew that when he secretly blamed himself, he heard Yang Congyi smile approvingly: "Yes, I really didn't misunderstand you, you are a handsome talent, so you shouldn't be buried in the mountains and rivers of the south of the Yangtze River." ”

After speaking, seeing Xin Qiji's face full of confusion, he immediately said: "I sent someone to find you to go north, because I have a heavy task entrusted to you, I don't want you and I to think in my heart, it actually coincides." If you want the Northern Expedition to succeed and dominate the world, you must first take Guanzhong. And if you want to take Guanzhong, you must first take Hedong. Luzhou and Liaozhou are the places that must pass through to take Hedong, and before launching an attack on Hedong, Luzhou and Liaozhou must be completely controlled by us. ”

Seeing that Xin Qiji's expression changed, he became excited, and seemed to have an understanding, Yang Congyi immediately smiled and said: "Yes, it is to let you enter Taihang Mountain in the west and dominate Luzhou and Liaozhou!" ”

As soon as he heard this, Xin Qiji was immediately excited, but after a while, he suddenly calmed down, and then said worriedly: "Xia Guan doesn't have much experience in leading troops, and he has never ruled the land of two states at the same time, and Luzhou and Liaozhou are not in the hands of the Great Song Dynasty, so Xia Guan is worried that he will disappoint the expectations of adults!" ”

"You used to be a rebel, you also led soldiers, and you fought with the Jin people, so you have no experience. I'm not afraid to tell you that although Luzhou and Liaozhou are not the land of the Great Song Dynasty, they are not the land controlled by the Jin State, and they have fallen into the hands of the Shandong Righteous Army and the Taihang Mountain Righteous Army many years ago, and Luzhou and Liaozhou are all our people. Originally, I wanted to go to the front line to command the battle in Hedong and Guanzhong, but the matter of Hejian Mansion changed the situation in the north greatly, and I wanted to stay here to contain Zhending Mansion and Yanjing, so that I needed a capable general to move west and seize Hedong. I think you're the right fit, what do you think? ”

After Yang Congyi finished speaking, he quietly looked at Xin Qiji, who was sitting opposite, waiting for his reply.

"Restoring the rivers and mountains of the Great Song Dynasty, a snow and a shame, is the lifelong wish of the lower officials! The next official is willing to go! Xin Qiji suddenly got up, looking at Yang Congyi's eyes were very firm and solemn.

"Good! Young people should have ambitions. From today onwards, Hedong will be handed over to you! ”

After Yang Congyi finished speaking, he took out a scroll from his desk, approached Xin Qiji, and handed it to him.

This is a detailed map of Luzhou, Liaozhou, Taiyuan, Pingyang, Datong, Fengshengzhou and other places, the topography of mountains and rivers, the direction of rivers, the width of roads, the size of the city, the size of the population, the geometry of the garrison, etc., almost all the information needed has been clearly marked in the map. With this map, coupled with our deployment in Luzhou and Liaozhou in the past few years, I think it should not be a problem for you to take Taiyuan and Pingyang within two years. ”

Yang Congyi gave a general explanation of the contents of the bundled scrolls, and as for the specific content, he had to go to the other party to see the map and study it himself.

In a strange land, a detailed map is very important, and those who have led the army know it well.

Xin Qiji looked at the scroll in his hand, listening to Yang Congyi's introduction, he was very excited in his heart, it turned out that the imperial court had not done anything on the surface over the years, and had been secretly preparing for the Northern Expedition to unify the rivers and mountains, and Lord Yang was not just talking, he was really prepared!

"My lord, please rest assured, I swear to heaven that if I can't capture Hedong within two years, I will never return to Bianjing in this life!" With a burning gaze, the oath echoed through the hall.

"Okay." Yang Congyi raised his hand and patted the other party's shoulder, and said in a straight voice: "Hedong will be handed over to you." When we seize Hedong and assist the Sichuan-Shaanxi army to take Guanzhong, you and I will attack Yanjing together! When the time comes, I will celebrate your achievements in Yanjing City! ”

"Xiaguan looks forward to that day coming soon!" Xin Qiji became more and more excited, and immediately asked, "When will Xia Guan leave?" ”

"Don't worry, in the past two days, I still have some things to tell you about Luzhou, Liaozhou and Hedong. It's hard work for you to travel all the way north and come from afar, and you should rest for a few days. Yang Congyi smiled lightly.

"Xia Guan is fine, I don't feel bitter at all, time is urgent, I can't delay!" Xin Qi said urgently.

"Okay, no matter how anxious you are, there are still many things to discuss with you in the past two days. Let's eat first. Seeing that the time was not early, Yang Congyi estimated that Xin Qiji must have been full of questions before, and he came in a hurry, maybe he was still hungry.

Hearing Yang Congyi say this, Xin Qiji slowly calmed down.

Yes, how can you not think about such a big thing as recovering Hedong, Lord Yang has been preparing for this matter, he must have thought more and more thoroughly than himself, and the news he has is difficult for him to know, he should indeed spend more time asking adults for advice, sharpening knives and not cutting wood, this simple and understandable truth, how can I forget it.

Thinking of this, Xin Qiji immediately replied: "Yes, the lower official will listen to the arrangement of the adult." ”