Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Seeing this, Shen Qing nodded in satisfaction, feeling gratified by Zhao Kai's prompt admission of his mistake.

However, since the topic has come up, Shen Qing decided to test Zhao Kai to see if he could keep up with her thinking.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing suddenly looked intently at Zhao Kai and said, "Zhao Kai, do you know what is most important to a force?"

“Army? Combat power?...." Shen Qing shook his head in denial for every word Zhao Kai uttered.

"Could it be the will of the people? Brother Shen, I understand now. For any power, the will of the people is the most important thing. The people are the water, and the ruler is the boat. The water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it." After racking his brains, Zhao Kai excitedly gave his answer.

"Then what is the will of the people?" Shen Qing continued to ask.

"Popular support is the opinion of the people. As long as the people are on your side, that's the will of the people," Zhao Kai replied confidently.

"Then how can we win the hearts and minds of the people?" Shen Qing continued to ask.

"This means ensuring that the people have food to eat and clothes to wear..." Some things are easier said than done. Faced with Shen Qing's question, Zhao Kai became somewhat hesitant, stammering out what he could think of.

“What you said is true, but it’s not the core idea. Can you think of anything else?” Shen Qing was quite satisfied with Zhao Kai’s overall performance. He had improved a lot since he was at Shangyin Academy. It seemed that Zhao Kai hadn’t been slacking off in private.

"I've exhausted all my skills, please teach me, Brother Shen." Faced with Shen Qing's expectation, Zhao Kai shook his head with shame. After being enfeoffed as the King of Yue, Zhao Kai privately sought knowledge from Liu Wenbao every day whenever he had free time, and also constantly studied various books on governance that had been preserved in the world, all in order to become a qualified ruler in the future.

Human strength has its limits, but learning has no end. Although he had made great progress in learning the ways of governing a country by cramming a lot of knowledge, he was still just a novice who only talked about things on paper. Sometimes, many principles and knowledge cannot be learned from books. Only through personal practice can one draw one's own conclusions.

“Zhao Kai, your comments about food and clothing are too superficial and don’t fully reflect the will of the people. In fact, there are many forces in the world that can provide food and clothing for ordinary people, but they still haven’t won the hearts of the people. Do you know why?” Shen Qing said, turning his gaze to Zhao Kai again.

After seeing him shake his head, he continued, "That's because the people have never felt a sense of belonging to this power. This is the core idea behind the concept of 'people's hearts'."

"Only when the people recognize this power will they feel a sense of belonging and be willing to fight or give everything for it from the bottom of their hearts. Even if they are hungry or cold, it will not affect their love for this power. What you need to do is to make all the people of Yuezhou feel a strong sense of belonging to Yuezhou, make them proud to be Yuezhou people, and be willing to work hard for the development of Yuezhou and give everything for Yuezhou. As long as you can do all this, then Yuezhou will become your strongest backing and your capital to fight for the world in the future."

"Brother Shen, I understand what you're saying, but I really don't have the confidence to do it," Shen Qing said with a bitter face. Shen Qing's grand plan was beautiful, but its realization was another matter.

"Zhao Kai, show some backbone! Look at you, you coward. With me here to help you, what are you afraid of?" Shen Qing looked at Zhao Kai with disdain and disgust.

"Brother Shen, do you have a way?" Zhao Kai asked with a disbelieving look. Realizing the sense of belonging that Shen Qing mentioned was not a simple matter. At least Zhao Kai had racked his brains but had no clue whatsoever.

"The deepest affection is fleeting, but a clever strategy wins hearts. Just do as I say." Shen Qing looked at Zhao Kai with a profound and inscrutable expression, but did not tell him exactly what to do.

Zhao Kai pressed Shen Qing for an answer several times, but Shen Qing refused to say anything, which made Zhao Kai furious but helpless.

"Alright, let's get down to business. So, the training of Hama, Pan Yang, and the others must be carried out together. It would be best to break up the surrendered soldiers of the Li Yue tribe and mix them with the local militia. Let them eat, live, and train together. In this way, it won't be long before they get to know each other and gradually integrate. As long as they go through a few more battles and develop a camaraderie on the battlefield, there won't be any problems."

"However, considering the language barrier, I will hire some people who can speak Baiyue to teach Pan Yang and the others the language, and at the same time send people to teach Hama and the others the official language of Liyang. This way, both sides can learn from each other and compare their experiences, making it easier for them to integrate. Not only in the military camp, but also after Yuezhou is settled... well, that's a bit too far off, let's talk about it later." Shen Qing thought for a moment, but still didn't reveal all his plans. The current conditions weren't right; it wouldn't be too late to discuss it when the time was right.

Then Shen Qing changed the subject and returned to the important matters of Yuezhou, "By the way, Zhao Kai, I brought back 1600 catties of gold coins this time, which is equivalent to two taels of silver. With this money, we need to send people to take over the affairs of the other four prefectures of Yuezhou as soon as possible." Originally, there were five boxes of 2000 catties of gold coins, but one box was absorbed by the black ship, leaving only four boxes.

"What are your thoughts, Brother Shen?" Zhao Kai asked.

"I plan to have Pan Yang lead 200 local militia and 200 prisoners to take over Wu Commandery. I will personally lead men to take over Lujiang Commandery, Yuwen Yong will lead men to take over Luling Commandery, and Zhang Bianguan will lead men to take over Danyang Commandery. As for Liu Wenbao, he will stay in Yuzhang Commandery, and you will remain in Kuaiji Commandery. Each commandery will be allocated 20,000 taels of silver. After each commandery takes over its main city, it can purchase its own food and supplies. Each commandery will first recruit 1500 local militia to carry out basic city defense and patrol work. After the commandery city is stable, we will then expand to the county towns below, eventually taking control of all the cities and towns in Yuezhou. During this period, all cities in Yuezhou will be under military control, open during the day and under curfew at night." Shen Qing explained his plan in detail.

"Brother Shen's plan is excellent; let's proceed accordingly." After listening to Shen Qing's plan, Zhao Kai carefully considered it against the map, found no problems, and agreed. In the absence of sufficient manpower, military control was the most efficient method.

After arranging the takeover of the four prefectures, Shen Qing shifted the topic back to the martial artists who had been attracted by He Zhu. "Besides taking over the entire Yuezhou city, you can't be idle. According to my estimation, at least four thousand martial artists have flooded into Yuezhou. These people can't be left idle, otherwise they will become a huge destabilizing factor. Have Li Ying and others cooperate with you to build ten huge arenas outside Kuaiji City. I will send someone to He Zhu to announce to those in the martial arts world that the martial arts examination will be held in Kuaiji City in a month. As long as you can become a martial arts candidate, you will receive a reward from the Yue King's Mansion. If you can go further and pass the Yue King's Mansion's interview, you will also receive an official position. I believe that whether out of curiosity or a desire to watch the excitement, most of the martial arts world will be attracted here. You also need to prepare in advance and have Mr. Han cooperate with you to maintain order and prevent disturbances, otherwise these lawless people may cause considerable chaos."