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

Seeing that Li Che didn't say anything, Qiu Bai walked up and helped Li Che up.

Then he turned around and took over from Li Che, punching the bandit on the head.

He beat him for half a minute until the man stopped breathing, and then he stopped.

Qiu Bai turned around and looked at the bandits next to him. They were so scared that their noses were running and they quickly knelt down in front of Li Che:

"My Lord, my Lord, please forgive me..."

Li Che saw it without even looking at him, he drew his sword and cut his throat in two in an instant.

Only one bandit was left, trembling in fear.

"Your Majesty, spare me! I never laid a hand on them!"

Li Che then stopped, snorted coldly and sat down on the steps beside him.

The soldiers found a total of 23 women from the secret camp.

Among them, only seven could still walk.

The others were so emaciated from long-term imprisonment that they even had difficulty walking.

There are also four pregnant women, one of whom is about to give birth.

Li Che's face turned pale as he looked down at the bandits trembling on the steps.

According to the bandit, this secret stronghold was used by Fan Chong to imprison women.

Hutoushan is different from other mountain strongholds. They are all the prince's people and none of them bring their families with them.

But a group of men trapped in the mountains all day naturally have needs.

Fan Chong plundered women from decent families and imprisoned them in this secret camp for these bandits to vent their lustful pleasures.

"You said you never touched them, but do you have proof?"

The surviving bandits kowtowed profusely, "Your Highness, please understand! I... I am a eunuch, and even if I wanted to, I have no power to do it!"

Li Che glanced at his crotch with disgust, and understood what was going on.

It turns out that it’s not that I don’t want to, but that I can’t.

"That Fan Chong deserves death!" Li Che gritted his teeth, seething with rage. "Qiu Bai!"

"My subordinate is here!"

"I've changed my mind. Kill Fan Chong and hang his body by the mountain path as a warning to future generations!"

"What about the prince..." Qiu Bai asked tentatively.

The reason why Li Che kept Fan Chong before was to make things difficult for the prince, but now he has the intention to kill him.

"Send the thing between his legs to the prince!" Li Che sneered, "Since it is something used by the prince, I think he will be able to recognize it."

Qiu Bai trembled all over and quickly bowed in response.

Only then did Li Che turn his gaze to those women, his eyes full of complexity.

It has been more than ten years since the founding of Daqing. It can’t be said to be a chaotic time now, but have the lives of the lower-class people become so miserable?

No wonder the ancients said: When a country prospers, the people suffer. When a country perishes, the people suffer.

Whose daughters are they, and whose wives are they...

If family members knew about this, they would be so heartbroken!

After a while, Li Che adjusted his mood and said, "Rest for tonight. I will have someone take you down the mountain tomorrow morning."

A soldier came forward from behind and handed a few taels of silver to the women.

"Go home, everyone. I think your family members are also waiting anxiously."

A woman in a soldier's robe held the silver in her hand blankly, then suddenly lowered her head and burst into tears.

The crying seemed to be contagious. Soon, Li Che heard a series of women crying.

Li Che hated to see women crying, so he pretended to be angry and scolded:

"Why are you crying? Didn't the king tell you to go home?"

The woman who cried first sobbed, "Your Highness, we have no home..."

Other women also cried and complained:

"Yeah, we can't go home."

"Your Highness, please take us in. We...we can do the laundry, cook, serve tea, and water..."

"I can't go back. I can't go back."

Listening to the girls crying, Li Che fell silent for a while.

He knew that these women were not necessarily homeless.

It is the feudal values ​​that exist in this era that prevent these poor women from returning home.

Women who were abducted by bandits would be criticized even if they returned home.

The distorted concept of chastity and victim-blaming theory will cause them to suffer a second heavy blow.

Not to mention that there were several pregnant women among them.

Looking at the women crying inconsolably, Li Che finally softened his heart.

"Forget it." Li Che said, "Then stay in the army for now."

After hearing Li Che's words, several women immediately knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Li Che looked at the guards around him and said coldly: "Remember, if you want women in the future, you can go to the brothel to find them, or you can go to those barbarian women."

"But there's one thing: you can't force yourself on a woman from Daqing, or I'll turn my back on you!"

Everyone has desires, but the difference between humans and animals is that humans can suppress their desires.

Although the Ninggu Army does not yet have a systematic military discipline, it still needs to have the most basic humanity.

Many guards quickly responded: "We understand!"

As the sun set, Li Che led his team back to the convoy.

In addition to Hutou Village, there are other strongholds that need to be looted, so we definitely cannot set off today.

We simply found an open space to set up camp and prepare to rest for the night.

As dusk deepened, lights flickered in the camp.

When Li Che was inspecting the camp, Chang Ningxue came to meet him.

At this moment, Chang Ningxue's expression had returned to normal, and she bowed:

"Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life."

Li Che nodded: "It's just a small favor, no need to be polite."

"I have concealed many things from you before. I am not the daughter of the commander of Shanhaiguan..."

Li Che smiled and said, "This king has long seen that when a general's daughter travels, she will not only be accompanied by a few women."

Chang Ningxue looked at Li Che in surprise: "Why didn't your highness expose it?"

"What good will it do to expose you, other than to embarrass you and make you make up another lie?" Li Che said calmly.

Hearing this, Chang Ningxue lowered her head silently.

After a moment, she said, "I wonder... can I accompany His Highness to Ninggu Commandery?"

Li Che remained noncommittal: "Ninggu Commandery is a Daqing Commandery, so naturally we welcome all Daqing citizens."

Chang Ningxue bit her lip, as if she had made a great decision:

"To be honest, I ran away from home. My father... is quite powerful in the imperial capital. Your Highness, if you're willing to take me in, aren't you afraid that he might resent me?"

Li Che raised his eyebrows slightly and asked with a smile:

"Your father is resentful of me, aren't you afraid that my father will be resentful of him?"

Is this a fight with my father? I'm so excited!

My father is Emperor Daqing!

Chang Ningxue was stunned when she heard this, and then she realized that she had said the wrong thing, and her face turned red immediately.

Seeing her embarrassment, Li Che stopped teasing her and said calmly:

"Since the young lady is interested in going to Ninggu Commandery, I will naturally welcome you. But..." Li Che changed the subject.

Chang Ningxue clenched her fingers and asked nervously, "Just what?"

"Since you have entered Ninggu County, you must contribute to the county."

"There are many women in my army, but they are all pitiful creatures."

Chang Ningxue's eyes moved slightly, and a sense of sadness suddenly arose in her heart.

Since ancient times, women in the army have had only one identity...

Military prostitute.

Could it be that Li Che wanted to use these women as tools to satisfy his sexual desires?

But then Li Che said:

"I've noticed that the maids around you have all learned some martial arts. I'm sure you're also familiar with women's martial arts and self-defense techniques."

"I wonder if you could teach them a few moves so they can protect themselves."

Chang Ningxue opened her eyes wide and asked, "Why does Your Highness let women learn martial arts?"

Li Che smiled and said, "So what if she's a woman? Even though she's a little weaker than a man, she can still fight in battle."

"This king wants to set up a medical battalion in the army to treat the wounded, but he's short of manpower. These women are perfect for the job."

Chang Ningxue murmured, "Can women... also go to the battlefield?"

"Of course." Li Che said seriously, "The women of Daqing can also hold up half the sky!"