We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Inside the government office, a charcoal brazier dispelled the chill of the highland night.

Li Che dismissed his attendants, leaving only a Tibetan veteran beside him, with a slightly uneasy Dorje Tsering standing before him.

Before the other teams arrived, Li Che had already handed over the affairs of the city, and he finally got a rare moment of free time.

Taking advantage of this moment, Li Che summoned Dorje Tsering, wanting to learn about the situation in Tibet from him.

Li Che's knowledge of Tibet was limited, and much of it came from official documents archived by the imperial court, which were already somewhat outdated.

To win every battle, you must know yourself and your enemy. You need to understand your opponent as quickly as possible, the more the better.

Since Dorje Tsering had already surrendered, he naturally knew that this was the time to pledge his allegiance and a rare opportunity to demonstrate his worth.

He composed himself and began to speak slowly in Tibetan: "Your Majesty, please allow me to report, Tibet is now..."

As Dorje Tsering narrated, a clearer outline of the Tubo regime than was recorded in past official documents of the court gradually emerged in Li Che's mind.

Today, Tibet's official system is quite complete, and the supreme monarch is called 'Zanpu', who possesses supreme royal power, just like the emperor of the Central Plains.

It has three major political systems. The first is the Gonglun system, with the Grand Chancellor Gonglun and the Deputy Chancellor Gonglun, Mang Hu. These two positions are also called the Grand Chancellor and the Junior Chancellor, which are equivalent to the left and right prime ministers in the Central Plains.

In addition, there is a "Xibian Chebu" position, making a total of three positions. These positions are responsible for handling important military and national affairs, including military campaigns, and they wield considerable power.

The second system is called the Nanglun system, which consists of three people: the inner minister Nanglun Chebu, the deputy minister Nanglun Xunlingbu, and the junior minister Nanglun Chong. They are mainly responsible for internal affairs.

The third system, known as the Cold Wave System, still has three positions responsible for oversight and justice.

These three systems, comprising three chief officials of varying ranks, were collectively known as the Nine Great Ministers, which constituted the centralized official positions of the Tubo Kingdom.

Under the Nine Great Discourses, there are seven types of officials in the local areas: Yuben, Maben, Qiben, Anben, Chuben, Changben, and Xingben, who are respectively responsible for administration, military affairs, horses, grain and fodder, animal husbandry, adjudication, and agriculture.

At the same time, a strict hierarchical system was established, namely the official appointment system, which used jade, gold, silver, gold-decorated silver, copper, and iron badges to hang in front of the wall to distinguish between the noble and the lowly.

Furthermore, in order to strengthen local management, the Tubo Kingdom divided the land into administrative regions, setting up five Ru, each of which was further divided into several Dongdai.

In Tibetan, "Dongdai" means "thousand households," and it was both an administrative and military organization. Tibet practiced a system that combined military and civilian functions.

The households under each Dongdai were further divided into 'Gui' and 'Yong', with Gui belonging to the higher class of subjects and Yong belonging to the lower class of subjects.

In times of war, Guimin was in charge of fighting, while Yongmin was in charge of logistics.

However, Li Che also discovered some things he had previously misunderstood.

Although Tibet at this time was a slave society, it was different from serfdom.

Slaves were merely distinguished by their social status, but still retained a degree of personal freedom.

Dorje Tsering also explained in detail at this point: "Slaves are mostly prisoners of war or trapped by debt. Their persons do not belong entirely to their masters. They can own a little property and have a certain degree of autonomy in marriage. Their masters cannot kill them at will."

"But it is also a fact that slaves were burdened with heavy taxes and had a lower status than commoners."

"Slaves can also own slaves, and slaves are not slaves for life. After achieving merit in battle, they can gain the status of free citizens, and even official positions."

Li Che nodded slightly, which meant that social classes were not completely solidified and that there were still upward mobility channels.

This is the most worrying aspect: when a country's upward trajectory is not completely closed, it means that the country possesses unlimited potential and mobilization capabilities.

For example, why was the Qin state able to unify the world and be invincible back then?

The military merit system played a significant role in this, making the people eager to join the army and fight.

This made Li Che even more vigilant. All signs indicated that Tibet was currently on the rise and had great ambitions for external expansion.

This might be a good thing for the Tibetans, but for their neighbor Daqing, it was quite the opposite.

Moreover, Daqing is currently in a period of expansion, and when two young and powerful empires collide, they are bound to fight for supremacy.

This has nothing to do with hatred or righteousness; it's purely about self-interest.

This land could not tolerate the coexistence of two powerful empires, especially since it also concerned the governance of the Western Regions.

Li Che's eyes darkened: "This is truly... a mountain cannot hold two tigers."

Dorje Tsering stopped narrating and looked somewhat uneasily at the emperor, who was deep in thought.

Li Che raised his head, his eyes now devoid of emotion, and slowly asked Dorje Tsering, "Do you know that Tibet and my Great Qing are destined to have only one dominate this western frontier?"

"This is a struggle for the fate of the nation... You are just a minor player in it, and there are some things that even I cannot decide."

Dorje Tsering opened his mouth, but finally lowered his head: "The sinner... understands."

"Now that you understand, you should know even more that your choice is not only to save your family, but also to find a new path for the millions of ordinary herders in Tibet."

Li Che's words were meaningful: "Of course, the premise is that Daqing can win this battle for the fate of the nation."

He stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the deep night outside Chuimacheng.

A change appeared in Dorje Tsering's eyes.

He surrendered to Li Che earlier only to protect himself and his family.

At this moment, Li Che gave him another reason, a reason that was closer to the greater good.

Perhaps, under the rule of Emperor Daqing, the people of Tibet could live a better life?

Li Che only mentioned it briefly and did not delve into the topic. He instructed, "Go and send word to all the generals that there will be a meeting in the central command tent in one hour."

Dorje Tsering respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Yes, this humble general takes his leave."

Even after Dorje Tsering walked out of the house, Liche did not turn back.

He simply gazed out the window and instructed the old soldier beside him, "Summarize what you just wrote down."

Now he has an unprecedentedly clear understanding of this adversary known as Tubo.

Daqing is no longer just facing border conflicts, but the beginning of a clash between two empires, and its strategy needs to be re-evaluated.

Knowing yourself and the enemy is the only way to survive a hundred battles.

In the following days, as Chuimacheng prepared for the battle, it received several teams that arrived after a long journey.

Yueyun was the first to lead his troops back intact.

Although his troops experienced several skirmishes, they managed casualties well and achieved remarkable results.

Yu Daliang arrived a little later and encountered even fiercer resistance, losing nearly 30% of his men, but his gains were still quite considerable.

Upon receiving the report, Li Che personally went to the West Gate to greet him.

When Yue Yun and Yu Daliang dismounted and bowed, Yue Yun stepped forward first and supported their arms.

"Just come back."

Li Che's gaze swept over the exhausted soldiers behind them, and his mood became somewhat heavy.

The marks of swords and arrows on their armor were obvious, and blood clots were congealed on the manes of their warhorses, clearly indicating that they had been fighting fiercely for several days without rest.

After carefully inquiring about the situation of Yueyun's encounter and expressing condolences for the losses of Yu Daliang's troops, Li Che immediately instructed the quartermaster to prioritize replenishing supplies for the returning soldiers and treating the wounded.

The emperor personally greeted them, offered words of comfort, and clearly recorded their merits, which warmed the hearts of the soldiers returning from their adventure, and their fatigue seemed to lessen somewhat.

However, no matter how much suffering they endured, it is a good thing to be able to come back.

Of course, there's good news and bad news.

Not all teams returned safely; at least several teams were late in returning, and the liaison team sent by Luo Yueniang also exceeded the scheduled time.

Li Che was initially able to remain calm, but after three consecutive days without any definite news, he ordered more scouts to be dispatched and mobilized the night watchmen accompanying the army to conduct a thorough search of all directions of attack.

Some of the scouts brought back even worse news.

Traces of fierce fighting were discovered at several treacherous mountain passes leading to Chuima City.

The area was littered with fragments of Qing army standard armor and a large number of unidentifiable weapon remnants.

In some places, the remains of Qing soldiers who had been hastily buried were also found.

Judging from their clothing and personal belongings, they are indeed members of the missing team.

Several other scouts completely lost track of the target group, as if they had vanished into thin air in the vast Gobi Desert.

There were no signs of battle, no belongings, nothing at all.

Perhaps they lost their way, perhaps they were captured, or perhaps the entire army was wiped out in some unknown corner, without even the chance to send a final message.

Clearly, when Li Che concentrated his forces to launch a strong attack on Chuima City, the Tibetan side was not entirely on the defensive.

They dispatched mopping-up troops to intercept and hunt down the scattered Qing army infiltrating camps from the rear.

These Qing army squads are deadly thorns when harassing, but once they are locked onto by superior forces, they are easily trapped in a desperate situation.

The most critical issue is that if the Qing army is captured, it would mean that Li Che's identity is likely to be exposed.

Will the appearance of the Emperor of Daqing at the front line drive the Tibetan army into a frenzy, even to the point of sacrificing everything to capture Li Che alive and achieve a great feat?

. . . . . .

The atmosphere inside the central command tent was heavy.

Upon hearing of the fate of their colleagues, all the generals wore expressions of grief and indignation.

Li Che stood in front of the map, remaining silent for a long time.

He marked the approximate area where the wreckage was found, compared it with the main movement direction of the Tibetan forces, and discovered that they were very close.

"I underestimated the Tibetan army's reaction speed." Li Che's voice was devoid of much emotion. "After suffering the blow, they quickly retreated and divided their forces to deal with the situation. Their generals were very decisive."

He turned around and looked at the generals in the tent: "Those soldiers who were unable to return to their posts were all loyal and brave men of Daqing. Their sacrifices will not be in vain."

"Now, Chuimacheng is the fortress for all our soldiers who have penetrated deep behind enemy lines."

"We will make the Tibetans pay back the price in blood, tenfold, a hundredfold!"

Li Che's gaze swept over everyone: "Reorganize the troops, inspect the city defenses; the real battle is about to begin."

"Yes, sir!" the generals roared in response.