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

The night watchmen said nothing, but nodded slightly to Li Lin, as a sign of recognition of this temporary master.

Li Che waved his hand, and more than thirty figures disappeared in an instant, as if they had never been there.

Even with Fengguo's current strength, it cannot train too many of these elite night watchmen. Most of them are lurking around the Park family of Goryeo, the royal families of Silla and Baekje, and the governors of various provinces in the court.

There are less than a hundred Night Watchmen in Chaoyang City.

Some of them protected Li Che, and the other part protected Chang Ningxue and others in Fengwang Mansion. These more than 30 people were all that Li Che could send to Li Lin.

"This journey is dangerous, Fourth Brother, don't take any risks." Li Che warned, "If your life is in danger, strike first and let the Night's Watch kill the enemy."

"Now is different from the past. You and I have become powerful brothers. There is no need to be timid. The sword is in your hands, and the officials in the court should listen to us carefully."

Li Lin nodded silently: "I know."

"By the way, once we get to the imperial capital, the night watchmen there will definitely come looking for you. When they do, please help me pass on a message and ask that kid Qiu Bai to return to Fengguo."

Li Lin was surprised and asked, "So you sent Qiu Bai to the imperial capital? I was wondering why I hadn't seen him for so long!"

Then, he suddenly realized it and took a breath:

"Wait... Sixth Brother, you wouldn't place a Night's Watchman beside our father, would you?"

A smile appeared on Li Che's face: "Guess what?"

"I guess you must have done it! You are so brave. What if father finds out..." Li Lin said in astonishment.

Li Lin is a brave warrior, and he remains calm even in the face of assassinations. The only person he is afraid of is Emperor Qing.

I don’t know what Emperor Qing did to scare his own son so much that he had PTSD.

Li Che said, "I really don't have any... Father has masters around him. Not to mention planting people around him, the Night Watch can't even enter the Imperial City."

Li Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although compared to Emperor Qing, he is definitely closer to Li Che.

But Li Lin was also unwilling to let Li Che place such a dangerous person next to Emperor Qing. After all, he had been educated in Confucianism since childhood and had a heart of loyalty and filial piety.

Li Che also smiled slightly. He did not lie to Li Lin. It was indeed difficult to place people on Emperor Qing's side. There seemed to be many hidden masters in the imperial city.

However, the situation was different for the King of Qin and the King of Jin. Although it was a bit difficult, some night watchmen still managed to sneak in.

"Don't think too much." Li Che patted Li Lin's shoulder, "Let's go! Let's have a drink, and then have a good sleep, so we can hit the road tomorrow."

Li Lin hadn't recovered from his shock at the night watchman, but when he heard Li Che say that, he quickly became excited: "Can we watch the Goryeo Dance Troupe?"

Li Che was helpless. At this time, he was still thinking about the girl group. The fourth brother had it in his life.

"Can I?!"

Li Che said unhappily: "Yes, yes, yes!"

Li Lin immediately smiled happily: "Good brother!"

. . . . . .

Li Lin left the next day, and with him left a thousand elite cavalrymen of the Fengtian Army and more than thirty night watchmen.

Li Che did not see him off as he had other things to do.

The first thing is to check the stored food and fodder.

Although Tao Qian has already reported it, and Li Che also trusts this old minister 100%, trust does not mean letting him go.

There is definitely no problem with Tao Qian, but he may also be deceived by the people below him.

Food is the lifeline of Feng State, and we can never be too careful.

Fortunately, Fengguo now has a clean political environment. There may be corrupt officials, but they are definitely a very small number, and they dare not openly embezzle grain.

Li Che went to the granary in Chaoyang City, which was filled with grain from several warehouses, and it looked very pleasing.

It was normal for Feng State to store grain. Merchant caravans brought grain from all over the place and stored it in Chaoyang City. The grain was then distributed to various armies in preparation for wars that might come at any time.

Li Che even went to look for the grain officer who was in charge of the granary.

A grain officer was sitting happily in the yard, cooking a pot of pickled vegetables and tofu. When he saw Li Che coming in person, he immediately stood up and saluted.

Li Che glanced at the boiling pot and said with a smile, "Get up and talk."

"Your Majesty...your humble servant..." The grain officer wiped the sweat off his face.

After all, it was working hours at this time. Adding a meal or something was not a big deal, but it would be a different matter if the boss saw it.

Li Che, however, didn't care and said gently, "Alright, the weather is getting colder. It's just a pot of pickled vegetables and tofu, not some big fish or meat. This king has never cared about such a small matter."

The grain officer finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then he heard Li Che say:

"I've been traveling all this way, and my stomach is full of wind. I'm feeling chilly, but the smell of your bowl of rice warms me up."

Li Che glanced at the steaming pickled vegetables and tofu with a burning gaze, and naturally extended his hand: "Do you have any chopsticks? Let me have a taste of your deliciousness."

The grain officer was completely stunned, his eyes were as big as copper bells, his mind was blank, but his body subconsciously carried out Li Che's orders.

With trembling fingers, he fumbled for a pair of rough bamboo chopsticks from the upside-down sack beside him and handed it over.

Li Che took it calmly, without any hesitation. He lifted his robe sleeves and bent his knees to imitate the grain officer's just now. He lowered his body and sat next to a bulging grain bag.

He carefully picked up a piece of white and tender tofu with chopsticks, blew on it, and then put it into his mouth.

The hot tofu melted on the tip of his tongue. Li Che narrowed his eyes slightly, then picked up a small piece of black pickled vegetables and chewed it twice.

"Hmm!" Li Che sighed with satisfaction, his eyes bright as he looked at the still-stiff grain officer. "The tofu is tender and smooth, the pickles are salty and fragrant, and the sizzling hotness really warms my stomach! Your cooking skills are almost as good as the chefs in the palace."

Zhang Cheng listened to the unpretentious praise and looked at the prince squatting where he had just sat without any hesitation, eating the same coarse food as himself, and his heart was moved.

Seeing Li Che eating so sweetly, the fear that almost crushed him finally cracked like thin ice in early spring under the warm sun.

His tense shoulders relaxed a little, and he forced a smile, his voice still trembling: "Your Highness... Your Highness, thank you for your compliment. This humble servant... This humble servant just made a hasty meal, very crude and unpresentable... It's really... It's just a shabby meal."

"Shabby?" Li Che swallowed the tofu in his mouth, smiled and shook his head, "You have never tasted the true taste of shabby. When I was on the march, if I encountered heavy snow blocking the mountains and the food supply was cut off, even the bean cakes for the horses became precious. At that time, if I could have a bowl of hot pickled vegetables and tofu like this..."

He paused, his tone tinged with distant reminiscence. "Tofu warms the body and fills the stomach, so it's a good thing. This granary is full of good things. If you can guard it well and ensure that the soldiers and civilians have enough food to eat, then you'll be honorable."

As he spoke, he picked up another piece of tofu and ate it with relish.

Zhang Cheng listened to the prince calmly recounting the hardships of the past, and the soothing warmth seemed to seep into his bones bit by bit along with the prince's words.

I've heard that the prince is approachable and easygoing, but I didn't expect him to be so easygoing.

Seeing that the other party had relaxed, Li Che asked, "What's your name?"

"Little Zhang Cheng."

"Zhang Cheng, what a good name! Guarding this granary requires the word 'Cheng'." Li Che suddenly said, "Old Zhang, I just flipped through your account book."

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng's heart suddenly rose to his throat and his body tensed up instantly.

"No problem, you remember every detail clearly. You are a capable person." Li Che praised.

The reason why Li Che told him so much was because among all the granaries, the account of the one managed by Zhang Cheng was the most beautiful.

Of course, one of the reasons is that pickled vegetables and tofu are delicious.

"I want to ask you, guarding this granary is a tough job, if you have any difficulties, please tell me."

Zhang Cheng was about to answer when Huo Duanxiao, who was accompanying him, gently reminded him, "Don't be embarrassed. This is a good opportunity. You must tell His Highness the truth."

"Your Highness..." Zhang Cheng licked his cracked lips and said in a low voice, with a hint of tentativeness and long-held fear, "Your humble servant... Your humble servant dares to say something, but I'm not sure if I should say it..."

"Hmm?" Li Che was picking up a small piece of pickled vegetables and stopped when he heard the words.

He turned his head and his eyes fell gently on Zhang Cheng's face: "Old Zhang, just say it. We are the only ones here, and there is a full warehouse of grain. There is nothing taboo."

Silence lingered between the two of them for a few breaths, like dust in a granary.

Finally, Zhang Cheng seemed to have made up his mind and squeezed out a dry voice: "Your Highness, I think... the grain stored is too much. Should we store less?"

"Hmm?" Li Che listened quietly, the gentle smile on his face did not fade, but his eyes became curious.

"That's quite interesting. Everyone else wants as much food as possible, but why do you complain about having too much food?"

"It's about food loss... Your Highness, there's a lot of moisture in this warehouse, and there are occasional rats, so food is often lost." Zhang Cheng swallowed hard and glanced at Li Che quickly.

Seeing that Li Che's expression remained unchanged, he continued, "There is too much food stored. We can only distribute the old food to the soldiers. Once the soldiers have eaten the old food, the new food will become old food again."

"So, the soldiers will have to eat stale food all the time... I don't think this is a good idea."

Li Che's expression gradually became serious. He gently put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at Huo Duanxiao behind him: "Is what Lao Zhang said right?"

Huo Duanxiao replied, "That's true, but there's no good solution. We can't just let the grain rot in the warehouse, right?"

Li Che shook his head: "That won't do. For soldiers like me, eating old food every day, how can it be good for our health?"

Suddenly, seeing Zhang Cheng's eyes burning, as if he wanted to say something, Li Che said with a smile:

"Old Zhang, I see you're hesitant to speak, but do you have a clever trick for me?"