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

According to convention, the conferment of a title should be celebrated throughout the country, and even prisoners within the fiefdom should be pardoned.

But Li Che would definitely not do that. After all, the prisoners in Chaoyang City were all war criminals, the kind that were absolutely unforgivable.

Li Che asked Qian Bin to take out some of the meat and vegetables in stock and distribute them to the people.

The soldiers were given three days off, and the training, which had to be carried out rain or shine, was stopped. Those who had wives went home to find wives, and those who didn’t had wives tried hard to find wives.

The officials did not have such a good time. The pace of development of Chaoyang City was too fast, and all aspects were progressing at the same pace. Officials at all levels were extremely busy.

If the officials also took a holiday, the entire city would come to a complete standstill.

Li Che gave them triple salary and bonus as compensation for their persistence in their posts.

After the ceremony of crowning the king, Li Che gave a banquet, and all the middle and high-level generals and officials came to the banquet.

Huo Duanxiao originally thought that since His Highness had just arrived and would not have too many people under his command, he did not expect that the facts were completely different from what he thought.

The entire palace hall was almost full of people, with more than forty civil officials and a slightly smaller number of military officials. Only those at the rank of captain were qualified to sit at the table.

"Duanxiao, don't be so restrained. We will be colleagues in the future and we need to take care of each other."

Qian Bin enthusiastically pulled Huo Duanxiao and walked into the hall.

"Mr. Qian, you are too polite. My father often told me that Mr. Qian is one of the few people in the current court who is willing to do practical things. But I didn't expect that Mr. Qian would follow Your Highness to this place outside the Great Wall." Huo Duanxiao said seriously.

Qian Bin smiled and said nothing.

When he first proposed to reform the imperial examination system and elevate the status of mathematics, Right Prime Minister Huo Tao was one of the few important officials who supported him.

Unfortunately, His Majesty did not adopt it in the end.

This is the drawback of a heroic ruler. After all, not every heroic ruler is like Li Shimin, who can accomplish great achievements while also being able to humbly accept advice.

Qian Bin took Huo Duanxiao and Huo Duanli to their seats, originally wanting to let the two brothers sit in the front.

But Huo Duanxiao refused to obey no matter what, saying that he was new in the position and it was not suitable for him to take on such a position.

There was no other way, Qian Bin could only send them to the middle position.

The two brothers sat on the ground. Huo Duanli was only twenty years old, at the age of being lively and active, and he looked around curiously.

He would also complain to Huo Duanxiao from time to time: "Second brother, look! His Royal Highness the Prince of Feng has barbarian generals here!"

"Hey? Isn't that the old scholar from the Heavenly Guardian Department? How come he's here in Fengdi?"

"Second brother, second brother, look at the person next to you, why is he still wearing shackles?"

Huo Duanxiao was just about to ask his brother to be quiet when he glanced at the person beside him and exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Wang?!"

This person was none other than Wang Yongnian, who was ordered by Li Che to "work while wearing shackles".

Seeing Huo Duanxiao recognized him, he bowed awkwardly: "Huo Erlang."

Huo Duanxiao has always been an upright person, so he would not take advantage of others' misfortunes. "I didn't expect Lord Wang to be here too."

"I am a guilty person, and I feel ashamed."

Wang Yongnian and Huo Tao served in the same court and inevitably interacted with each other on a daily basis. Huo Duanxiao was acquainted with him.

The two of them were now colleagues, and it was a matter of fate that they met, so they started chatting.

"Lord Wang serves under His Highness and should be familiar with the current situation in Chaoyang City. Could you please give me some advice?" Huo Duanxiao asked seriously.

"I can't say I'm familiar with it, but I do have some experience with it," Wang Yongnian sighed. "Your Highness is decisive and efficient in employing people, and he only promotes the most talented."

"Although Chaoyang City is small, it has a lot of affairs. Since His Highness took office, he has established several departments, including the Gunpowder Bureau, Iron Works, Military Supervision Department, and Mineral Exploration Department.

Various policies were implemented in parallel, and each department was a powerful government office. The officials were responsible for many matters and were very tired.

Since I'm new here, I still have to get used to it as soon as possible."

Huo Duanxiao nodded and asked, "With so many departments, are there enough officials in Chaoyang City? I remember that Your Highness only has about thirty officials under his command, right?"

"Originally, it wasn't enough, but Your Highness has so many ideas and is so courageous." Wang Yongnian smiled wryly and lifted the shackles on his hands. "See? This is called working under shackles. There are more than twenty 'criminal officials' like me in this city, all exiled criminals from the imperial court."

"Do you know what position I hold here?"

Huo Duanxiao shook his head.

Wang Yongnian's face looked strange. "The Imperial Censor is responsible for supervising the discipline and etiquette of officials."

"Tell me, I'm a man in shackles, responsible for supervising others... In the whole world, only our prince would dare to do this."

Huo Duanxiao smiled slightly and ignored Wang Yongnian's complaints. Instead, he thought that Li Che's move was quite wise.

He is a criminal and naturally will not show any mercy, so it is perfect for him to supervise other people.

At this moment, the sound of ritual music rang out.

The noisy officials in the hall stopped chatting and turned their eyes to the young prince at the top.

When the music stopped, Li Che stood up with a smile and said loudly:

“Today, this king is promoted, which is a happy event.

However, I am not happy that I have become a prince, but I am happy that I am willing to serve the country and be favored by Your Majesty.

This is not the credit of this king, but the credit goes to the people of Fengguo, the officers and soldiers of the three armies, and all of you.

I hope that my country will be peaceful and the people will be safe, and all the blessings will be shared by us.

This king cheers for you all!"

After that, Li Che raised his glass and said with a smile: "Drink to victory!"

Hearing Li Che's words, everyone raised their glasses, stood up and said in unison: "Congratulations to His Highness!"

After drinking some wine, Li Che gestured for everyone to sit down and the banquet officially began.

Qian Bin, Zhuge Zhe, He Conglong, Wang Sanchun and other close ministers and beloved generals of Li Che came forward to offer their blessings.

Even the uneducated ones who couldn't even say the words of blessing came up to toast.

Li Che accepted everyone who came and raised his glass frequently.

Fortunately, he was drinking rice wine, and Li Che's physical condition was getting better day by day, so he didn't drink too much.

Although there are still many distilled liquors in the city, the alcohol content is too high and the taste is not good.

Li Che was afraid of drinking himself to death, so he didn't take it out, so he left it for the emperor to drink...

After a round of drinking, singing and dancing began.

A group of singers walked into the hall, and musicians picked up their instruments and played cheerful music.

The singing girls were the ones who danced for the noble families in the government office when Li Che entered the city.

Although he couldn't stand the extravagance and debauchery of the aristocratic family, Li Che still kept these singing girls. After all, this was their profession. Where would they go if he drove them away?

If you stay in the palace, you can dance to relieve your boredom at this moment.

After a song and dance, all the ministers stood up and cheered Li Che again.

Huo Duanli nudged Huo Duanxiao and whispered, "Second brother, aren't you going to congratulate His Highness?"

Huo Duanxiao thought that Li Che would not care about such things, but after thinking about it, he decided not to be too eccentric.

Just as he was about to pick up the wine glass and step forward, a dark shadow suddenly flashed beside him and ran in front of Li Che first.

Wang Yongnian, who had just been a little resentful in private, now had a completely different expression and came forward with a smile on his face:

"Your Highness, on this auspicious day. I have a humble poem to present to Your Highness."

After that, he recited a poem with great emotion.

The poem is quite ordinary, full of flowery words.

But it was full of blessings and flattery. Although everyone was disdainful, they also applauded.

Li Che did not lose face for him: "Mr. Wang has great literary talent. This poem is very much to my liking. You should appreciate it."

Daqing was founded on military power, but its literary style was also quite good. It was common for people to drink and write poems and lyrics with a few good friends during gatherings.

With Wang Yongnian taking the lead, the civil officials all became interested and began to present poems to Li Che one after another.

The military generals were in an awkward situation. They just stared at each other, a group of big and strong men who couldn't utter a word.

Seeing that the civil officials had become the protagonists, Wang Sanchun gritted his teeth and asked He Conglong beside him: "Old He, you are letting these civil officials steal the limelight. Why don't you also write a poem?"

He Conglong rolled his eyes at him and said, "Why don't you go?"

"I only know a few dozen characters, and they're all military orders for battle. How can I write poetry?"

"I'm a little better than you, but not much." He Conglong shrugged.

They both looked at Yue Yun standing beside them.

Yue Yun blushed immediately: "I... although I can read, I have never learned to write poetry."

"But...I have heard His Highness recite poetry before, and it sounds quite inspiring."

"Oh?" Wang Sanchun suddenly became interested. "Tell me, is His Highness a civil official or a military commander?"

He Conglong immediately said: "Your Highness has been awarded a title for his military merits, so he is naturally considered our general."

Wang Sanchun slapped He Conglong's thigh fiercely: "That's it, let His Highness write a poem to surpass these scholars!"