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

The old man’s current wife fled from famine, and no one knows where her home is.

She was disabled and had intellectual problems, so the old man took her away as his second wife.

After figuring out the whole story, Li Che couldn't do anything about this lewd old man.

After all, it is someone else's family affair. Even though I am a vassal king, I cannot interfere in the sexual affairs of the people.

He asked his personal guards to stuff a few steamed buns into his mouth so that he could take them home to feed his wife and daughter, and then sent him away.

After all this trouble, most of the morning had passed. As the sun was reaching overhead, the caravan below was ready.

Li Che led his men down from the city wall, and the soldiers saluted by hammering their hands on their chests.

He Conglong walked quickly from the middle of the caravan and said, "Your Highness."

"No need for formalities, are you ready?"

He Conglong nodded: "All the goods have been loaded. We are ready to set off as soon as His Highness gives the order."

That’s right, Li Che chose He Conglong to be the person in charge of the first trade.

He Conglong was born into a family of salt merchants. Although he was not well-educated, he understood business.

Since the Fengguo merchant caravan was entering the customs for the first time, they must bring sufficient guards, and letting He Conglong lead the team was the most appropriate person.

As for the affairs of the Chaoyang Army, other generals shared the responsibilities with him.

Fengguo has everything, except for talented generals.

Li Che stepped forward, helped He Conglong straighten his cloak, and said softly, "Be careful on your journey, be more cautious in everything, and don't trust others easily."

He Conglong was moved: "Your Highness..."

"Especially those aristocratic families." Li Che's eyes were serious. "This time I sent a thousand soldiers to protect them. Ordinary bandits would never dare to have any evil intentions, but those aristocratic families..."

He Conglong frowned slightly: "We are fighting under the banner of the Fengtian Army. Are those noble families so bold as to attack the prince's caravan?"

Li Che shook his head: "If it were an ordinary caravan, they wouldn't dare to do that."

"But this glass is entering the Central Plains for the first time. It's bound to fetch a sky-high price. As the saying goes, money moves the heart..."

"A wise man named Ma once said that if there's a 50 percent profit, the wealthy and powerful will take risks; if there's a 100 percent profit, they'll dare to trample on all laws; if there's a 300 percent profit, they'll dare to sell out everything, including their conscience."

Huo and Zhuge behind him opened their eyes wide and pondered carefully, feeling that these words were deafening.

Although this statement is simple, it hits the nail on the head. This sage said it very well.

But they are well-read, so how come they have never heard of any sage named Ma saying such words?

"Your Highness, do you mean that they will bring people to rob our goods?"

Li Che shook his head: "No, the appetite of the aristocratic family is not that small. What they want is not the fish, but the fishing net that can continuously catch fish."

"It's just that the formula for this glass is only available in Fengguo, and they don't have the courage to come to the outside of the Great Wall to ask me for it. You are the only bridge to communicate with the outside world."

He Conglong's face turned pale and he looked at the soldiers behind him.

Then he whispered, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I know what to do."

Li Che nodded slightly, and the two looked at each other, the deep meaning of which was self-evident.

He Conglong is Li Che's loyal confidant. No matter how stubborn the aristocratic families are, they will not take action against him.

But the same cannot be said for the other people in the caravan. After all, interests are the most corrupting thing.

If the noble families instigate some people to return to Feng State to sabotage, steal the formula, or obtain intelligence...

No matter how tolerant Li Che is towards his subordinates, he will definitely root out the problem completely, and he will do so without regard for evidence.

This kind of thing is difficult to make public, and it will more or less hurt some people's hearts.

It would be better to let He Conglong keep an eye on it and kill the traitor before returning to Shanhaiguan.

Li Che gave He Conglong some instructions, and then encouraged the soldiers, officials, and laborers who were setting out with the caravan on the high platform.

A caravan carrying flags with the word "Feng" on them marched out of the city gate, stepped onto the brand new cement road, and headed towards Shanhaiguan.

Li Che stood on the city wall, watching the caravan's flags gradually disappear from view, and sighed slightly: "By the time they come back, it will be snowing in Fengguo, right?"

Huo Duanxiao beside him responded, "It's already autumn outside the Great Wall. The caravan's journey back and forth took at least three months, so they're naturally returning through the snow."

Li Che turned and looked towards Chaoyang City.

The four major corps were all dispatched, the merchant caravans entered the pass, and the new recruits trained by the Chaoyang Army went to the field for training again.

Chaoyang City, which is usually crowded with people, now looks a little more lonely.

"Alright, everyone is working hard for the country, and you and I can't fall behind." Li Che said with a smile, "Let's go back to the government office and discuss legislation and women's workers."

"I will take your orders."

. . . . . .

He Conglong led his team south and reached Shanhaiguan the next day.

Xue Zhen had received the order long ago and learned that the court allowed trade inside and outside the pass, so he did not make things difficult for He Conglong.

He Conglong returned the favor by giving Xue Zhen a wolfskin coat, saying that the coat was personally chosen by Li Che for him.

Xue Zhen showed no reaction on his face, he just accepted it silently, looking unconcerned, even a little disgusted.

After He Conglong led the caravan away, the deputy general came up to him with a sly look and reached out to touch the wolfskin coat.

Snapped--

A slap landed on the back of the deputy general's hand like lightning.

The deputy general bared his teeth and looked up, only to see Xue Zhen with a calm expression: "Don't touch my coat!"

"You don't mind, do you? Why don't you give it to me? I just need a warm coat."

"I don't even plan to wear this clothes, how can I give it to you?" Xue Zhen walked into the house holding the coat.

"No? You don't even dare to wear the clothes sent by the king, so what are you keeping it for?" The deputy general was confused.

Xue Zhen didn't answer him, but walked straight into his room, pulled out a box from under the bed, and emptied the contents.

After folding the wolfskin coat neatly, Xue Zhen carefully held the clothes, put them into the box and locked it.

A smile flashed across Gu Bo's calm face:

"If my Xue family is lucky, this item may become a gift from the emperor."

. . . . . .

After passing Shanhaiguan, the next stop is Yanfan.

From the moment he left the customs, He Conglong found that the road was becoming more and more difficult to walk on.

The cement road was unobstructed and as calm as a lake, and there was hardly any bumps when vehicles and horses passed on it.

But away from the cement road, it is completely different.

The road was full of potholes, and the wheels would get stuck in them from time to time, requiring everyone's help to push them out.

Not to mention the weeds on the ground and the collapsed road surface.

In order to ensure the caravan's safe journey, He Conglong had to organize an advance team to walk in front of the team.

The advance team was responsible for filling the pits, clearing obstacles, and notifying the main force to bypass the collapsed section of the road.

After traveling all the way like this, we finally arrived in Yan.

Before entering Yan, He Conglong counted the goods.

Except for glass products, the loss of goods is about 10%.

Glass products are protected more strictly, basically one item per box, and a lot of weeds are stuffed into the boxes containing the glass.

Although the protective measures were very good, seven or eight of them were inevitably damaged, which made He Conglong very sad.

According to Li Che's instructions, broken glassware cannot be left outside the customs and must be brought back intact.

After He Conglong dealt with the matter, he personally led a team of cavalry to Dongping City to ask for an audience with King Yan.

In stark contrast to Xue Zhen's cold attitude, Li Lin was very enthusiastic after learning that the visitors were from the Fengguo merchant caravan.

Not only did he personally welcome He Conglong, he also sent cavalry to escort the caravan into the city.

"Oh? You were also involved in the battle to kill the aristocratic family in the market?" Li Lin shook He Conglong's hand and laughed.

He Conglong said calmly, "At that time, I was a small soldier under His Royal Highness the Prince Feng. I was fortunate to fight alongside His Royal Highness in the battle."

"Hahaha, not bad!" Li Lin's eyes lit up. "Sixth brother and you have really helped me a lot."

"Those thieves from aristocratic families cannot be beaten or scolded on weekdays. This king wishes he could eat them alive!"

"But in the end, they still lack the courage. If it weren't for the Sixth Old Man's intervention, I would still be suppressed by them and would even have to be cautious when leaving the palace."

He Conglong has a calm personality. Faced with Li Lin's enthusiasm, he did not let himself go.

Instead, he said politely, neither too distant nor too rudely, "I dare not take credit for it, and I rely on the wisdom of your two highnesses."

"My prince often tells me that I am grateful to His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan for stopping the aristocratic bandits and escorting us out of the city."

"Especially the armored cavalry you gave Your Highness. They have made numerous military achievements since leaving the border. They were the first to rush into the gates of Beizhen City."

Upon hearing this, Li Lin's face showed nostalgia.

"They...the knight in the lead is called Yue Yun, right?"

"That's right. General Yue is now the commander of the Fengtian Army's cavalry, in charge of all the cavalry in the army."

Li Lin smiled. "This boy is a natural born cavalry commander. He understands cavalry better than any other general under my command. I knew he would shine sooner or later."

"Unfortunately, he has deeply offended the Northern Territory family. If I use him, it would only harm him. It is best for him to stay with Old Six."

"I love two things the most in my life: armored cavalry and fierce generals." Li Lin shook his head. "Your Highness is truly strange. He actually let me give him both of these things at the same time, without showing any regret at all."

Li Lin was filled with emotion. When he and Lao Liu were in the imperial capital, their relationship was not good at all. They were just acquaintances.

I didn't expect that after so many years, when we met again, I found him more and more pleasing to the eye.

Compared to when he was a child, he seems like a different person, with a confident and convincing personality charm.

"My Highness said the same thing. This time, His Highness the Prince of Yan helped to facilitate trade between the interior and the exterior of the country. His Highness is extremely grateful."

"I was asked to bring you some gifts as a token of my gratitude." He Conglong stood up and bowed. "The gifts are outside the house. Your Highness, would you like to take a look?"

"Oh?" Li Lin suddenly became curious. "Come on, let's go. I want to see how this old man, Lao Liu, is going to thank me!"