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

The door was slowly pushed open.

"Your Highness!"

Several guards returned to the room one after another.

Li Che raised his head and asked softly, "What's the situation?"

The guards looked at each other, then stepped forward one by one to report:

"Dong Liwen, he couldn't hold on."

"Li Han, couldn't hold on."

"Wang Xizheng never betrayed me until the end."

Everyone was stunned, their eyes focused on the guard.

The corners of Li Che's mouth also rose slightly.

The guard showed admiration on his face: "This man may seem weak, but he is actually determined and a tough guy."

Li Che nodded and looked at the next person.

"Zhou Ling, hold on."

"Qin Jing, passed."

"..."

"Pei Yuanxian, passed."

"Zhang Shengxiang also passed."

After everyone reported, they stood aside respectfully and stopped talking.

Li Che stopped tapping his fingers and slowly stood up.

Of the eight people, five passed the loyalty test.

This ratio is already very high. After all, their identities are different, and some of them are not even considered his subordinates.

This loyalty test is somewhat similar to the anti-interrogation test of special forces in later generations.

Launching a surprise attack without anyone knowing is the best way to test a person's character.

Between life and death, there is great terror.

After all, if you want to see a person clearly, you can't just look at what he says, but also what he does, especially when death is approaching.

The position of head of the production and construction group is too important and can only be given to someone who is absolutely loyal. Li Che had no choice but to do so.

"Tell Wang Xizheng, Qin Jing, Zhou Ling, Pei Yuanxian, and Zhang Shengxiang to come here to see me."

"Yes." Qiu Bai bowed in response.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and asked hesitantly, "Your Highness, for those who failed, do you want me to..."

Qiu Bai stroked his neck with his palm, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

Li Che shook his head:

"Knock out those three guys and send them back."

He then looked at the guards in charge of the interrogation and said, "What happened today must be kept secret. Do not tell anyone else."

"Yes, Your Highness."

What happened today was originally a test, not to mention the threat of using the other party's family.

The three people who failed the test did not betray themselves right away, but chose filial piety over loyalty, which is human nature.

Although Li Che acts unscrupulously, he still has a basic conscience.

However, no matter how great the achievements of these three people will be in the future, I will never entrust them with important tasks.

After a while, the guards brought Wang Xizheng and others to this room.

The moment the five people saw Li Che, fear flashed in their eyes.

But everyone was smart and quickly figured out the connection, and their eyes instantly became complicated.

No one likes to be tempted, let alone a temptation that they are completely unprepared for.

"Greetings, Your Highness." The five men saluted weakly with their fists clasped.

Li Che smiled, not caring about the negative attitude of the five people. He just said to Qiu Bai, "Please take a seat."

The five people saw that several of His Highness's personal guards brought stools, and they were the same ferocious kidnappers from before.

I feel even more mixed emotions.

"I would like to apologize to you all first."

Li Che walked up to the five people and bowed down.

Wang Xizheng and others were shocked and rushed forward to support Li Che. Even Pei Yuanxian, who had a grudge against Li Che, stood up in shock.

"Your Highness, absolutely not! Why do you have to do this?"

In ancient times, there was an order of hierarchy. No matter how big the mistake of the superior was, as long as he denied it, the ministers could not say anything.

Knowing one's mistakes and correcting them without admitting them is what an emperor does.

Li Che had no such idea at all. If he was wrong, he was wrong. What was so difficult about admitting his mistake?

Being tough in words will not gain respect from others, but having a strong back and strong fists will.

"It was my idea to test you all here. If you are angry, please tell me. I promise I will not refute you."

The five people looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

In the end, it was Zhang Shengxiang, a former political commissar, who spoke first, "Your Highness, why are you testing us like this?"

Li Che said, "Today, the king announced a national policy at the court meeting. I don't think you know about it yet, do you?"

The five of them were all grassroots officials, and Pei Yuanxian was even an unemployed vagrant, so he was naturally not qualified to attend the court meeting.

Li Che told them about the policies of the Production and Construction Corps. The five people thought about it for a while and looked surprised.

"This is a decree to stabilize the foundation of our country. It concerns the life and death of our country," Wang Xizheng murmured. "However, what does such a major event have to do with us... Hiss, wait!"

Wang Xizheng stared at Li Che with wide eyes, looking at him in disbelief: "Your Highness, it can't be, let's go..."

Li Che nodded solemnly: "That's right!"

"The position of regimental commander is of paramount importance! I cannot find one from the army, and officials from the palace are not suitable either."

"What this king needs is a versatile person who has truly gone deep into the grassroots, understands the suffering of the people, and is both capable and loyal, to serve as the first batch of group leaders!"

Wang Xizheng immediately cheered up and had long forgotten the interrogation and intimidation he had just experienced.

In a flash, he became unconfident again:

"Why would His Highness choose me? I have no knowledge of military affairs, nor do I understand politics. I only know how to farm... I'm afraid I'm not up to the task."

"Knowing how to farm is a great talent!" Li Che smiled and patted his shoulder. "I know a farmer relies on farming to feed hundreds of millions of people, earn the respect of the people, and achieve success!"

"Besides, you can learn politics. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to lead troops. I will send you a deputy general."

"I just want you to remain true to yourselves, loyal to the country and the people."

The five people immediately looked moved.

With such a huge responsibility falling on my head, it would be a lie to say I'm not nervous.

But no one would be so foolish as to give up this good opportunity, as it is a road to success.

"Your Highness, you and I have a deep blood feud." Pei Yuanxian said with a complicated expression, "Why did you choose me?"

Li Che looked at him and said softly, "The others were recommended by others, but you and Wang Xizheng were chosen by me personally."

"You are a descendant of the Pei family. When your entire family was exploiting the people, you remained untainted and never did anything to harm the people."

"I value your integrity and kindness."

"As for the blood feud." Li Che paused and smiled slightly, "It's me who has a grudge against you, not the people of Fengguo, right?"

"As long as you can be used by me and the country, I don't care even if the hatred is huge."

"If you harbor hatred, you can seek revenge on me. But there is one thing: the personal grudge between you and me must not involve the soldiers and civilians under your command."

After hearing Li Che's words, Pei Yuanxian was stunned for a long time.

Then he looked at Li Che deeply and slowly bowed to the ground: "Your Highness is broad-minded. I admire you very much and am willing to serve you!"

"Okay!" Li Che was overjoyed and personally stepped forward to help Pei Yuanxian up.

"You guys go home first, clean up and take a bath. Rewards will be sent to your house later."

"Starting tomorrow, you will all attend the court session. I will appoint you as attendants, allowing you to participate in the court proceedings."

"After the court meeting, you will follow me and attend the courses at the Gongzheng Institute and the Military Supervision Department."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Che waved his hand: "Go ahead, Qiu Bai, send them home."

Watching the five people leave, the smile on Li Che's face faded slightly.

He selected five people, but only prepared four corps, which meant there was one more person.

Let’s just look at their character.

If both are qualified, then one of them can only wait until the next batch of production and construction corps is established before taking office.

. . . . . .

In the next few days, Li Che became busy again.

The tens of thousands of refugees arrived in Chaoyang City one after another, and the resettlement work alone was extremely cumbersome.

Some of them will be incorporated into the Production and Construction Corps, and they only need to be allowed to stay there temporarily.

In addition, Li Che selected another 30,000 people and sent them to Liaoyang and Beizhen.

These two cities are strategic locations. The Fengtian Army took them down with great difficulty, and they cannot be used just as military bases.

By relocating some people there and developing people's livelihood as quickly as possible, it can serve as a transit station to support the four construction corps.

The remaining people can only stay in Chaoyang City.

Now that spring plowing has long passed, it is definitely too late to ask these people to reclaim wasteland, so they can only work as craftsmen first.

However, with Li Che's repeated emphasis, the status and welfare of Fengguo's craftsmen were improving.

Farmers only earn income during the autumn harvest, while craftsmen can get wages as long as they work.

Therefore, many refugees had no complaints about Li Che's arrangements.

The construction of the highway is still ongoing, and the section from Chaoyang City to Shanhaiguan has been completed.

After that, you only need to send someone for maintenance regularly.

A large number of laborers were sent to the north to start building the highway between Chaoyang City and Beizhen City.

After arranging his work every day, Li Che would also take time to give lectures to the officials of the Institute of Works or train the newly recruited political commissars.

The political commissar system has been fully implemented, and Li Che has been very strict in the ideological work of these people.

Since he wants to achieve his great ambitions, he may not be able to do it alone. Li Che needs a group of like-minded companions.

I am the root of the tree, and these political commissars are the branches. Advanced ideas will take root, sprout, and thrive in this new country like a big tree.

Li Che spent most of his time and energy on Wang Xizheng and the other four.

Fortunately, they are all studious and hardworking, and they have made rapid progress.

They gradually went from being completely unable to understand the strategic layout proposed by Li Che to being able to participate in the discussion and even occasionally draw inferences from it.

Just like that, another half month passed.

Summer is coming to an end and autumn is eager to arrive on the earth.

The first batch of four production and construction corps were all ready and set out on the brand new cement road to the four designated locations to establish new areas.

The war between Feng State and Khitan has just ended.

The war with nature has quietly begun.