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

"Did His Royal Highness really say so?"

Xue Zhen looked at the scout sergeant at the bottom of the stairs and asked with a frown.

"Indeed, he told us, the Shanhaiguan garrison, to keep a close eye on it, and leave the expansion of territory to the Fengtian Army. We just need to keep an eye on the gates of Daqing."

The sergeant was indignant.

As a soldier, who doesn’t have the ideal of expanding the territory for the country, and who would like to be called a gatekeeper?

He felt deeply insulted, but had no way to refute it.

Xue Zhen nodded thoughtfully, waved his hand and said, "I understand. You can go down."

The deputy general beside him pondered for a moment and said:

"General, His Majesty the Prince of Feng is acting with force. Now that he's discovered we're spying on him, should we withdraw all the secret guards near Chaoyang City?"

Although the deputy general was also angry that King Feng looked down on him and his people, he still had some rationality.

The duty of the Shanhaiguan garrison was to monitor King Feng and the barbarians, not to provoke conflict between the imperial court and King Feng.

If he angered Prince Feng and reported Shanhaiguan to the emperor, it would be even more difficult for him to be a general.

After all, His Majesty has already issued an order allowing Fengguo to trade with the interior of the country, and there will be more opportunities for the two sides to interact in the future.

"Don't withdraw."

What the deputy general didn't expect was that Xue Zhen flatly refused.

"Not only will we not withdraw, but we will also increase manpower and monitor Chaoyang City everywhere."

"This... General, why is this happening?" The deputy general looked puzzled.

"You only saw the arrogance of Prince Feng, but didn't understand his subtext." Xue Zhen's face was calm. "The Fengtian Army is expanding the territory, and we are here to guard the country..."

"But Shanhaiguan is behind Chaoyang City, so it's not our turn to guard the national border. Why did he say that?"

"why?"

"The army has gone out and Chaoyang City is empty. In fact, His Royal Highness Prince Feng wants us to help take care of the rear." Xue Zhen said with a smile.

The deputy general suddenly realized: "This is also the case with His Royal Highness Feng Wang. Just say it directly. He has grown up with his cunning..."

"Alright, have the cavalry feed the horses and prepare their weapons and armor. If any barbarians appear near Chaoyang City, send out support immediately."

Xue Zhen raised his head, looked at the green grass stretching outside the city, and said firmly:

"No matter who is fighting the barbarians, I, Xue Zhen, will definitely help them!"

. . . . . .

Fengtian Army Central Army.

After leaving Chaoyang City, more and more Mohe tribesmen who had surrendered to Li Che led their troops to join the army.

These tribes had been controlled by Li Che through military exercises before. Although they did not surrender sincerely, their fear of the Fengtian Army was real.

The Mohe and Khitan peoples had been in conflict for a long time. In the area south of the Great Wall, the Khitan people were powerful and the Mohe people could only survive in the cracks.

In the eyes of the Mohe people, we are all barbarians from outside the Great Wall. Why do you Khitans live better than us?

So when Li Che told the Mohe chiefs that he would lead them to fight the Khitans, everyone was ready to fight.

Since then, more than 10,000 Mohe cavalrymen joined the Northern Expedition Army, and the number of soldiers available to Li Che increased to 40,000!

It was the first time for Li Che to command so many troops, so it would be a lie to say that he was not nervous.

The command ability of ancient generals is often inversely proportional to the number of troops. Not everyone is Han Xin, and the more the better.

Especially this time, the Khitans are not as easy to bully as the Mohe people.

They once established a powerful "Liao" regime. At its peak, its territory extended to Sakhalin Island in the northeast, the Mongolian steppes in the north, the Altai Mountains in the west, and Yanmen Pass in the south.

"Raise the tent!!!"

Following the loud shout of the messenger, all the generals walked into the central military tent side by side.

** Zhi looked at the map and said, "I think we should attack Xiangping first. It is a key Khitan city. If we can capture it, the Khitan will be completely defeated."

Yes, although the Khitans were a nomadic people, they also had cities.

However, most of these cities were built during the Liao Dynasty. At that time, the Liao Dynasty could no longer be said to be a purely nomadic people. They were proficient in city building, farming, and book editing, and were no different from the Central Plains dynasties.

Xiangping was once one of the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty. It was located in the later Liaoyang City, very close to Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province.

Xiangping has a very early history and is almost the oldest city in Northeast China. In ancient times, it was definitely the core city of Liaoning Province.

Huo Duanxiao obviously has a different opinion from him:

"Xiangping is six hundred miles away from our main army, and we have to circumvent several Khitan tribes and towns. If our supply is cut off, our army will be deprived of food and fodder, and the consequences will be disastrous."

"I believe we should first take Guangning Prefecture and use this city as a springboard to attack other important towns."

Guangning is not very famous, it is the Beizhen City of later generations. However, the parent city of Beizhen City is very famous, that is Jinzhou.

Yes, it is the Jinzhou that says “For barbecue in the whole country, look to the Northeast, and for barbecue in the Northeast, look to Jinzhou.”

Li Che sat upright in the main seat, watching Huo Duanxiao and **zhi arguing with each other.

The other generals under his command were also divided into two factions, supporting the attack on "Xiangping" and "Guangning" respectively, and they quarreled fiercely for a while.

The barbarian generals, led by Deerbu, watched them quarreling in confusion.

The Mohe people could not understand these strategies. Isn't war just about leading people to charge forward and killing anyone you see?

Li Che did not join the dispute, but used it to observe the two men's leadership styles more deeply.

** seems gentle and elegant, a graceful Confucian general, but he likes to take risks in employing troops, focusing on high risk and high return.

Huo Duanxiao used his troops in a steady and cautious manner. He did not focus on achieving victory by surprise, but rather preferred to be conservative and take steady steps.

Feeling that the two groups had almost finished arguing, Li Che made a decision in his mind.

He cleared his throat and was about to speak, but the others were still immersed in the quarrel and no one paid any attention to him.

Li Che had no choice but to kick the Siberian tiger in front of him on the butt.

"Ooooooooooooo!"

Da Song roared like a tiger, startling everyone present so much that they all trembled and stopped involuntarily.

Li Che nodded with satisfaction. This tiger is really useful, much better than the teacher's stick.

If I had given my ex-girlfriend, who is a kindergarten teacher, a Siberian tiger of the same model, we wouldn't have broken up.

"I understand everything you have said." Li Che looked at everyone expressionlessly, his awe-inspiring presence evident without even getting angry.

"Whether attacking Xiangping or Guangning is the best strategy, so why not attack both?"

All the generals were shocked and looked at Li Che in disbelief.

**Zhi's eyes widened.

I thought I was already a big fan of taking risks, but I didn't expect His Highness to be even more imaginative.

Is it right to attack two important cities in one go?

"Your Highness, no!" He quickly persuaded, "Our army only has 40,000 men. If we divide them further, how can we capture the city and stronghold?"

Li Che shook his head: "Who said that I would attack the city at the same time?"

"The left army will march straight to Xiangping, creating a commotion as a feint. The Khitan Khan will be terrified and will undoubtedly order other tribes to come to the rescue. Guangning City will then be left empty!"

"The Central and Right Armies should seize this opportunity and push forward with all their might to capture Guangning in one fell swoop! Then, join forces with the Left Army to encircle and suppress the Khitan reinforcements coming to Xiangping!"