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

Li Che was angry and resentful towards Qin Jing, but more of him was heartbroken.

After all, he was one of the first officials to follow him, a talent he had respectfully invited with a sack.

From the perspective of his behavior, the crime he committed was not a serious one. After all, he did not keep the materials and expenses in his own pocket.

But judging from the results, this matter has caused a huge hole, and his head is not enough to compensate for so many lives.

More and more people came after hearing the news, and surrounded the scene.

The families of the victims were still kneeling on the ground crying.

Li Che looked at Qin Jing, whose face was pale, and suppressed his reluctance in his heart.

"Qin Jing neglected his duties and cut corners, resulting in the deaths of civilians. His crime is unforgivable!"

Li Che lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Come here, strip him of his official position, put him in jail, and wait for processing!"

"Order the Chief Secretary's Office, the Ministry of Works, and the Imperial Guard to conduct a joint investigation. Once the guilt is determined, report it immediately. I will punish the culprit severely!"

"Here!"

Several guards immediately stepped forward, took off Qin Jing's official uniform and hat, and put him in shackles.

A dignified official of the Gongzheng Office was instantly reduced to a prisoner.

Before leaving, Qin Jing did not say a word to excuse himself, but just left in silence with his personal guards.

Li Che watched him go away with a complicated expression, then turned to look at the people:

"Although the incessant snowfall was a natural disaster, the collapse of the house was undoubtedly caused by my negligence. This is my fault."

The people quickly spoke to comfort him:

"This is a natural disaster. What does it have to do with Your Highness?"

"Every year, the snow collapses several houses. Alas, it's the King of Hell who's taking our lives. Mortals like us can only accept our fate."

"Yes, yes, this year is considered good. In previous years, if it snowed this heavily, we wouldn't dare stay at home. At least half of the houses in this city would collapse."

"Hey...everything outside the pass is good, except for this heavy snow."

Even a relative of the victim cried and said:

"It is my fate to suffer this misfortune. Your Highness, please calm down and do not be too harsh on that official."

"He is also responsible and has no choice. He is loyal to His Highness."

"Before the official left, he gave me a few taels of silver and asked me to add another beam myself. I found it troublesome, so..."

Li Che looked at the family members kneeling in the snow, sighed deeply, and asked someone to help them up.

It seems that Qin Jing was not completely indifferent to the names of the people. He still had a trace of regret in his heart and left silver for the people.

Unfortunately, heaven and hell are often just a thought away.

If Qin Jing had wavered even a little and reported the matter to his superiors, things wouldn't have ended up like this, and those innocent people wouldn't have died tragically.

"Liu Ye." Li Che spoke again.

"The minister is here."

Liu Ye climbed up from the snow tremblingly.

He was the biggest contributor to the Chaoyang City and Cement Road projects, and the second most powerful person in Gongzheng Institute besides Wang Xi. His future was limitless.

He just happened to encounter such a bad luck, being implicated by Qin Jing, the stupid subordinate, and even causing a loss of life.

The second most powerful person also became the second person responsible for this incident.

"Your failure to manage your subordinates strictly and your oversight errors and omissions have led to such consequences. We'll deal with your problems later. Now, bring your people and conduct a door-to-door inspection immediately!"

"No one is allowed to live in any old houses anymore, and the people living there must be relocated."

"Even new houses need to be cleared of snow door to door. The entire city must be vigilant. Not a single house can collapse, or I will hold you accountable!"

Liu Ye looked at Li Che in surprise.

Even after such a huge mistake happened, His Highness still trusted me and let me be responsible for this matter?

"Do you understand?!" Li Che shouted angrily.

Liu Ye was shocked and said with tears of gratitude: "I understand, I understand. I will check it out right away!"

"roll!"

Although Li Che is usually generous and easy-going, he often laughs and jokes with officials and generals in private.

But when something really happened, Li Che's anger was no less powerful than that of an emperor.

All the major power institutions in Feng State, including the army, were mobilized and began to check every house one by one, fearing that another collapse accident would occur.

When Li Che returned to the palace, Hu Qiang, who was on duty, came to report that Huo Duanxiao and Zhuge Zhe, who had received the news, requested an audience with the emperor.

The two walked into the lobby side by side, only to see Li Che sitting under the dim oil lamp, staring at the sword on the table in silence.

The two looked at each other, stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness?"

Li Che recovered and looked at the two of them: "You are here?"

"We have just learned about this matter and are here to listen to your Highness's instructions," Zhuge Zhe replied.

Li Che nodded gently, his voice calm: "According to Daqing law, how should it be sentenced?"

The two were silent for a moment, without saying a word.

Li Che smiled softly: "Indeed, this matter has such a serious impact. Even if it is not a capital crime according to Daqing law, this king must enforce the law and give the people justice."

Daqing, or the ancient dynasties, were not completely ruled by law, but by man.

The king's will is above the law.

But this does not mean that the king can act on his own, otherwise he will lose the authority to maintain the rule of man.

Just like a few days ago, Qin Jing's crimes were exposed in public, and he had to die no matter what.

Only by using his brain can he stop the rumors, appease the people of Fengguo, and preserve Li Che's authority.

"Your Highness, are you reluctant?" Huo Duanxiao asked.

Li Che smiled bitterly. "I kidnapped Qin Jing from the imperial capital. At that time, he stood in the crowd, looking unconvinced. It wasn't until everyone pledged their allegiance to me that he reluctantly knelt down."

"He was a pampered and stubborn husband, but he was also a loyal subordinate. He shouldn't have come to this."

"Zheng Ze asked me if I couldn't bear it... Yes, I couldn't bear it."

Huo Duanxiao and Zhuge Zhe were moved when they heard this.

Although Li Che's intention to protect Qin Jing was not what a wise ruler would do, this made the two of them feel that their prince was more humane.

He is a living person, not a political machine like Emperor Qing.

Since people have emotions, it is impossible to be fair in everything.

"Forget it, forget it." Li Che smiled bitterly and shook his head. "After the interrogation, we will choose a day to execute him. Just treat his family well."

"Your Highness is wise."

Li Che's smile was still bitter.

The two turned to leave, but were stopped by Li Che: "Send a quick message to Li Zhi and Li Leshi, telling Liaoyang and Beizhen to be on guard against the possibility of houses being crushed by the snow."

"We also need to send people from the four major corps to warn them so that no tragedy will happen again."

Huo Duanxiao bowed and replied, "Your Highness, the caravan hasn't set out since the snow. Now the roads are covered in snow. I'm afraid we've lost contact with other cities."

"Then go ahead and open it up," Li Che said. "Once the snow stops, we'll restore traffic as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After the two left, Li Che looked at the snowflakes falling outside the window, feeling a little worried.

The snow keeps falling and is about to turn into a snowstorm.

If it continues like this, not only the dilapidated houses, but even his palace may not be able to hold on.

Moreover, the snow had been falling for three days and three nights, and the snow layer piled on the ground was nearly half a meter, which also affected the transportation in Feng State.

Li Che still remembers the snowstorms his hometown experienced in his previous life.

A snow depth of thirty to forty centimeters is enough to submerge the entire city in a sea of ​​white, paralyzing traffic and shutting down shops.

Fortunately, God was kind to Fengguo. When it was bright, the snow finally stopped.

Li Che finally breathed a sigh of relief and urgently convened a court meeting to arrange matters related to combating the snow disaster.

All 40,000 Fengtian troops were mobilized, some of whom were responsible for sweeping the streets and clearing snow from the roofs of the people.

A part of them, led by the scout battalion, cleared the roads leading to other cities and restored traffic.

Finally, three days later, the roads leading to Beizhen City, Huludao Corps and Panjin Corps were opened.

Not only is Chaoyang City working hard to restore traffic, but after the heavy snow, cities across Feng State are also working hard to contact Chaoyang City.

Five days later, the roads to Liaoyang and Fuxin were also open.

Dalian was the farthest away, and it was not until seven days later that it regained contact with Chaoyang City.

Yan San personally led his men to pick up a scout from the Dalian Corps.

The scout claimed that he had important information to report to His Highness. Yan San did not dare to delay and rode his horse at full speed to send the man into the city.

Li Che sat upright on the throne, looking at the Dalian Corps scouts gasping for breath below, and comforted them:

"Don't be anxious, speak slowly."

"Qiu Bai."

"My subordinate is here."

"Go get him a bowl of warm water."

"Yes."

The scout thanked him gratefully, and after drinking a bowl of warm water, his tongue finally became flexible again.

"Your Highness, Captain Zhang has ordered me to report to Your Highness that there have been unusual movements in Goryeo!"

Li Che's eyes widened as he said in a deep voice, "How dare the small country of Goryeo invade the territory of Fengguo?"

The scout shook his head: "Your Highness has misunderstood. Goryeo has not invaded. The Dalian border is stable."

"What is that? Please tell me in detail."

"Yes." The scout bowed and said, "Since the beginning of winter, Korean refugees have been fleeing to the border every few days. The Dalian Corps alone has recruited hundreds of people."

"Captain Zhang carefully questioned the refugees. He learned that the snowstorm caused by Goryeo this year was even more severe, crushing countless people's houses."

"Not only that, there seems to be chaos within Goryeo, and many troops are being mobilized in the heavy snow."

"Captain Zhang has asked his subordinates to report to you that he is 80% certain that a coup or civil unrest has occurred in Goryeo!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Feng State officials and generals present were suddenly in an uproar.

Only two words came to everyone's mind:

seek death!

During times of great disaster, civil unrest breaks out in the country.

From their point of view, isn't this courting death?

The people on the border can still come to Fengguo, but what about the other people?

The people can't survive, and the court is doing nothing, so rebellion is not far away.

This is a sign of a country's demise.

Li Che's thoughts were different from those of the officials. Two words also appeared in his mind:

opportunity!

This is Li Che's chance, and Fengguo's chance!

A good opportunity to severely damage the Goryeo Kingdom, capture Andong City (Dandong), and even capture the entire Liaodong!