The day after the end of the imperial examination, it snowed heavily in Yanjing City, and at this moment, the military aircraft department, including Zhao Chen, was discussing the gains and losses of this imperial examination. This time, the imperial examination was held in a hurry, and there were many problems, but no matter what, this nation finally walked out of the old road that lasted for thousands of years, whether it was Zhao Chen or other members of the Military Aircraft Department, they could have a premonition that the new imperial examination was about to bring great changes to the Great Song Dynasty.

In the far north, Zhongjing City, it has been snowing here for more than ten days! The world is vast, covered in silver, and it is extremely enchanting.

From the outside, there is not much difference between Zhongjing City and a year ago, but in fact, the lives of the people in Zhongjing City have changed greatly!

A year ago, the Khitan and Han people in Zhongjing City were alive like pigs and dogs, and countless people starved to death every winter! In front of the Jurchens, they have no status, no dignity! They have forgotten etiquette and morality, they have forgotten everything, they just want to be able to have a bite to eat, just to be able to survive!

And now, although the Khitan and Han people in Zhongjing City are still living in poverty, they have more or less surplus grain in their hands, and there is no longer a phenomenon of starvation in Zhongjing this year! When the Song army first entered Zhongjing City, the alleys and corners of Zhongjing City were full of dead people's bones, and now these are no longer visible! The numb expressions on the faces of the people of Zhongjing City disappeared, and smiles appeared on their faces!

In order to change the lives of the people in Shangjing, Zhongjing, and even the entire north and Liaodong, the Great Song Dynasty has made great efforts in the past year. One-third of the state treasury was spent on the restoration of the north and eastern Liaodong, and for a whole year, 200,000 militiamen traveled to and from the Central Plains, Yanyun, the north, and eastern Liaodong, constantly transporting a large amount of materials to the north.

Yu Yunwen personally sat in Liaoyang Mansion in Liaodong, and Shangjing and Zhongjing were under the direct jurisdiction of the Military Aircraft Department.

It can be said that the aid to the north and Liaodong in the past year can almost launch another northern war.

The Chinese New Year's Eve is getting closer and closer, and from the morning, there are many hawkers in Zhongjing City selling New Year goods. Most of these hawkers came from the Jiangnan and Sichuan Shu areas, and they crossed thousands of miles of land to come here for huge benefits, but it seems that it is still difficult to make money from here.

Several people from Zhongjing City stood at the gate of the city, looking out curiously at the moment, including both Khitans and Hans.

In the distance, a tall Han man came towards the area, and he shouted, "What are you all looking at?" ”

"It turned out to be Brother Wang, the army outside is gathering, I don't know what I'm doing?" A Khitan replied and said.

This tall Han man came to the city gate, and sure enough, when he saw the army outside gathering, he laughed and said, "Our Great Song army has to train every day, and you don't know it, what's so good about this?" ”

"Today seems to be a little different!" That Khitan is humane.

"What's the difference?" Dahan asked curiously.

"I can't say it, I just think it's weird." Khitan humane.

"By the way, how are you preparing for the New Year?" Dahan Road.

"It's almost ready! Thank you to the Great Lord, without whom we would still be as hungry as ever! Now I can eat a full meal often! The Khitan said with a pious expression on his face.

When Zhao Chen appeared in Liaodong, under the operation of the propaganda department, Zhao Chen became the so-called "savior", this year, the "savior" has spread among all the Khitan people in Liaodong, and in Zhongjing and Shangjing, there are also some Khitan people who began to preach the so-called "savior" title, which has both the credit of the propaganda department, and some Khitan people are spontaneous propaganda.

With a religious-like propaganda policy, and the Khitan people in the north who were genuinely eager to recuperate, it had become stable in just one year.

"It is said that there are still some places where there is not enough to eat." Dahan Road.

"I asked a general a few days ago, and he said that if someone can't eat, the court will continue to help! The imperial court gave us arable land, seeds, pastures, cattle and sheep, as long as we work hard, how can there be no reason why we can't eat? "Khitan humane.

"That's right! Hey, it's a little strange that these soldiers don't seem to be training today! After all this time, they are still standing there. The big man also showed a surprised expression on his face.

******

Five miles west of Zhongjing City, countless soldiers were gathering.

At the front of the army were some of the older looking soldiers, all of whom today had an indescribable expression on their faces, as if they were very sad, and some of them even had tears on their faces.

In an army of steel, it is unbelievable that soldiers shed tears!

And yet, now none of the generals blames them!

Liu Qi, Yang Yi and other high-ranking military officials came to the army, and they passed in front of these soldiers and kept raising their hands and saluting.

"From now on you will leave the army! You can return to your hometown! In the end, Liu Qi was surrounded by these soldiers, Liu Qi sighed.

"General, we don't want to leave the army!"

"Yes! We still want to stay in the military! ”

"General, can you let us stay any longer?"

The veterans around shouted one after another, and countless people had moist eyes.

"The court let you retire, that's good for you! Your name is Liu Guang, isn't it? You have only one old mother in the family, and now she is too old to live on her own, so wouldn't you want to let you go back and take care of your mother? Liu Qi looked at a soldier and said.

He knew the soldier, who was in his thirties! When he was in Jingyuan, this soldier followed him, and he still follows him all the time.

"However, I am reluctant to the army, reluctant to my comrades-in-arms." The soldier choked.

"Yes, General, we are reluctant to leave!"

The soldiers spoke again.

"Whether you are in the army or at home, we are all good brothers, and this feeling will never change! The state will give you a large amount of retirement money, take this money and go home and work hard! You were once soldiers, and you are also soldiers when you return home, don't disgrace the army! Liu Qi said.

The soldiers around them were sad, but they still nodded.

"Huang Jin, you used to study in the academy and served as a class leader, and you can participate in the imperial examination after you go back! After the imperial examination, you can enter the official palace and continue to serve the court and your majesty! ”

"You're Liu Rong, aren't you? I remember that your family is in Sichuan and Shu, and your family seems to be quite rich, and you are in the silk business! Now His Majesty attaches great importance to practical learning, and the status of Shinong industry and commerce is average! Work hard after you go back, and if your comrades-in-arms have any difficulties, you must help in time! ”

"You've all remembered that you'll have to keep in touch when you go back! Especially in the same place, we must move around often, we are all people from the army, and we are all brothers! Whoever is in trouble, the rest must help! ”

"Also, on the way back, the imperial court will send someone to explain some laws and regulations to you! When you were in the army, military law was like a mountain, and when you returned to the place, you must not violate the law and discipline! If someone violates the laws of the court and bullies you, don't be polite to them! The prince is guilty of the same crime as the common people, and no one in this world can do anything illegal! ”

Liu Qi kept shouting at these soldiers.

"General, we know! We all remembered! ”

"General, I want to serve for another year, can I?"

"It's really reluctant!"

The soldiers around are extremely sad at the moment!

"Remember, after returning to your hometown, you must always be loyal to Your Majesty and the imperial court!"

"We are all His Majesty's soldiers, and we should never embarrass Your Majesty."

Liu Qi was still shouting, and the soldiers around him agreed.

After a while, the soldiers behind also rushed over, and they hugged these veterans who were about to retire, and everyone was full of reluctance.

It was a full hour before the veterans gathered again, and they were going south.

"General, we want to say goodbye to our comrades! We haven't trained today, so let's just train for a long march! Let's go south with our comrades-in-arms and send them off! A division commander came to Liu Qi and said.

"Well, that's what I mean! Tell those veterans that they will also follow us for the last military training! Liu Qi said.

At the moment, this army is heading towards the south, and the veterans are carrying a lot of things because they have retired, but these things have been snatched away by the recruits, and the recruits are hugging the veterans and heading towards the south.

"Our soldiers are the best people in the world, they are not afraid of hardship, they are not afraid of death, they are loyal to Your Majesty and the imperial court, and after they return to their hometown, they will definitely be able to become the best people of the Great Song Dynasty!" Liu Qi followed the soldiers to the south, and he rushed to Yang Yizhong beside him.

"Not bad! When such groups of veterans return to their hometowns, the whole country will be different because of them! They know the doctrine of military discipline, and they will not break the law! Many of them are educated in the army, a few days ago Wang Shu wrote to us, saying that if the retired soldiers participate in the imperial examination, the probability of winning the examination will be far greater than those ordinary Confucian students, and half of the people in this officialdom are estimated to be retired soldiers in the future, compared to those corrupt Confucians, they will be more honest and diligent, they will not disobey His Majesty's orders, and will thoroughly implement His Majesty's instructions! However, the combat effectiveness of our army is about to decrease! Yang Yi said.

"The imperial court is about to have 30,000 recruits coming to our army, and when the time comes, we must train these recruits well, and strive to train these recruits into elites in the shortest possible time!" Liu Qi said.

"Good!" Yang Yizhong laughed.

"There is still a Mongol threat in our north, and the number of Mongols is much greater than that of the Jurchens! There is also the Kipchak steppe north of Mongolia! In the future, sooner or later, we will have to go north to conquer Mongolia and Kipchak, so we must always be prepared! Now the north and Liaodong are recovering, and when the recovery is almost over, Yue Fei will be the first to enter Goryeo, and after destroying Goryeo, it may be us! Liu Qi said.

"Let's hope this day comes soon! We've been fighting all these years, and we're not used to stopping. Yang Yi said.

"The Koreans are really rampant, they have been defeated many times in Liaodong, and they are still unwilling to leave, a group of greedy people."

"I don't know how General Yue is preparing?" Yang Yi said in the middle.

As they talked, the army that had bid farewell to the veterans drifted away, and it was not until a few days later that they stopped.