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

In addition to the famous "Theory of Peaceful Farming" in Chinese civilization, there were other reasons why Li Che had to go to war with the Khitans.

That is, the Khitans occupied a large area of ​​black soil, but they did not engage in production and used the good land to raise horses.

The raised horses were then used to form cavalry, which were then used to plunder other people and steal their food.

From the perspective of the Chinese, an agricultural nation, a nation that does not grow its own crops but steals from others is simply seriously ill!

Li Che could no longer bear to see such behavior of squandering resources and harming others without benefiting oneself.

It is impossible for Feng State to become strong and big by relying solely on Chaoyang City.

No matter how good Chaoyang City is, it is just a corner of the country. Trapping your future here is like laying bones in a tomb.

Li Che is not Yuan Shu and does not want to be the Skeleton King of Daqing.

If we want to develop our national strength, we must go further and go deeper into that black soil.

To occupy more fertile land, build more cities, and have more babies.

Only by connecting these cities with roads can we truly conquer this unruly land outside the Great Wall.

After unifying the basic strategy for launching a counterattack, Li Che began to take stock of the resources available to him with his ministers.

First of all, there are the three armies of the Fengtian Army, plus special troops such as the cavalry battalion, crossbow battalion, and personal guard battalion.

Except for the Chaoyang Army which will be stationed in Chaoyang City and responsible for the city defense, all other troops can be mobilized.

After this period of reorganization and recruitment, the total number of Ninggu Army reached 8,000, and the number of National Protection Army reached 10,000.

The National Protection Army originally had more soldiers, but Li Che demobilized some of the old, weak, sick and disabled among them, and selected special talents who were good at riding, shooting, archery, and reconnaissance, and incorporated them into the cavalry battalion, crossbow battalion, and scout battalion.

So now the total number of the National Protection Army is only 10,000, with thirteen battalions.

In addition to the special forces of the three armies, there are 5,000 cavalry battalions, 1,500 crossbow battalions, 800 scout battalions, and 3,000 barbarian battalions, totaling 10,000 people.

These 28,000 men were all the troops that Li Che could mobilize.

To be honest, it was a little too little. After all, they had to face the powerful Khitans.

Li Che thought for a moment and then issued the first order to start the war:

"Recruit and mobilize half of the males from the Nev, Linuo, and Kuzi tribes that have surrendered to the Fengtian Kingdom. Unite them into a single army and join the Fengtian Army in battle."

After Li Che sent troops to conduct military exercises with the various Mohe tribes, except for a few tribes that stubbornly resisted, the other tribes surrendered obediently.

Li Che did not treat these surrendered tribes too harshly.

He still retained their tribes, but sent messengers to supervise them and ordered them not to leave his control.

But since they are a surrendered tribe, when war comes, they will definitely send troops and contribute their efforts. This is also the traditional ruling method of the barbarians outside the Great Wall.

With the addition of these Mohe people, the available military force reached 40,000.

Zhuge Zhe pondered for a moment and asked, "Your Highness, what strategy do you plan to adopt against the Khitan?"

"Our Central Plains Dynasty has long adopted a defensive policy toward barbarians like the Khitans," Li Che said. "That's because the Central Plains Dynasty has cities and farmland, and needs to rely on farmland to feed the people."

"But our Fengtian Army is different. We only have one city and a population of no more than 100,000. Even if the Khitans break into our city, the worst that can happen is that we mobilize all our soldiers and attack their royal court to farm!"

"From this moment on, the Fengtian Army must follow a strategy in foreign wars!"

"Attack instead of defend, avoid the strong and attack the weak, use attack to break the siege, and fight to support the war!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

I thought His Highness was going to switch from defense to offense, but I didn't expect that his idea was still conservative. His Highness is using a strategy of fighting to the death!

He Conglong advised, "Your Highness, the Khitans claim to have a million soldiers under their command. While the actual number may not be that high, they can still mobilize an army of 200,000 to 300,000."

"The strength of the enemy and us is vastly different. If we just attack blindly, I'm afraid we may not be able to win."

"We will follow the rules. From now on, the Gunpowder Bureau will focus on producing grenades and landmines and start equipping the army." Li Che replied.

Li Che originally wanted to hide the gunpowder for a while. After all, once it was used, it would be like opening Pandora's box, and things would be out of control.

But everything requires flexibility. If you have a magic weapon in your hand, there is no reason not to use it.

Anyway, the secret recipe for gunpowder is in his hands. If Emperor Qing comes to ask for it, the worst that can happen is that he hands over the formula for ordinary black gunpowder.

Hearing that Li Che agreed to use gunpowder, some officials and generals breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tomorrow morning, we will begin mobilization for war. We will recruit civilians and auxiliary troops, and the Industrial Institute will fully utilize its resources to produce weapons and armor."

Li Che's eyes were sharp: "In this first battle, this king will personally lead the charge!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

. . . . . .

The next morning.

In the morning light, the city wall looks like a golden dragon across the sky, shining with majesty.

Li Che stood on the city wall, overlooking the entire city. The cold wind in the early morning blew across his armor, bringing a hint of murderous aura.

On both sides of the street, rows of neatly dressed soldiers were lined up, their armor gleaming in the sun and their swords clanging.

The door of the armory was opened, and various weapons were carried out neatly, including spears, bows and arrows, shields... Each one had been carefully polished in preparation for battle.

The craftsmen worked hard to strengthen the horse harnesses and put heavy armor on the war horses. The war horses seemed to feel the blood rushing to the battlefield, and they exhaled heavy and powerful breaths from their nostrils.

When the people who had gotten up saw this scene, they were all confused.

Messengers from all over rode fast horses through the streets and alleys, conveying Li Che's orders to every corner.

"We're going to fight again. Didn't we just win a battle yesterday?"

"Haven't you heard? The mine outside the city was attacked yesterday. Our Fengtian cavalry simply wiped out the Khitans who attacked the iron mine. Your Highness is preparing for revenge."

"Ah?! Are we going to attack the Khitans? Can we...win this?"

"Who knows? Although Your Highness has never lost since leaving the retreat, those are the Khitans..."

"Recruiting laborers, the reward is quite a lot, but I am the only laborer in my family..."

Although Li Che issued the call, it was not mandatory.

Not many people came to sign up, not only because they were afraid of fighting, but also because they had insufficient labor force at home.

Li Che looked at this scene and frowned slightly.

"Your Highness, it seems that we can only use Korean prisoners." Zhuge Zhe beside him said.

Li Che nodded, a little worried: "The Korean prisoners are wild and difficult to tame. I'm afraid they will disobey orders at the critical moment, or even turn against us."

Huo Duanxiao on the other side said, "Your Highness, I have a plan."