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

"Your Highness!"

Qiu Bai's anxious shouts came from behind.

Li Che turned around and saw him rushing towards him with several personal guards.

Seeing that Li Che was safe and sound, Qiu Bai breathed a sigh of relief, dismounted, and walked quickly forward.

Yan San bowed and said, "Manager Qiu."

Qiu Bai ignored him and knelt before Li Che, "I am late in coming to your rescue. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Li Che frowned when he saw Yan San's embarrassed expression.

"You deserve punishment."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Bai's face turned even paler and he lowered his head without saying a word.

"In this critical moment, my most trusted personal guard, the one I relied on the most, failed to protect you. Instead, it was Yan San, whom you all despised, who performed the meritorious service and found me first."

"How dare you look down on Yan San?"

The middle-level officers of the Ninggu Army looked down on Yan San, which Li Che considered to be complete workplace discrimination and bullying.

As the boss, he would not allow this kind of thing to continue.

I encountered this kind of thing in my previous life when I just started working, and I know how unpleasant it feels.

After being caught in the rain, I want to hold an umbrella for others.

Qiu Bai was filled with shame. He looked at Yan San, cupped his fist and said, "Captain Yan, it's my fault."

Yan San hurriedly dodged to the side and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Although the two were of the same level, the class differences in feudal society were difficult to overcome.

Before joining the criminal army, Qiu Bai was born into a soldier family and belonged to the class of "scholars".

As a thief, even if Yan San is a top thief, he is still at the bottom of the social ladder, or even a member of the inferior class.

"Okay, now that he has apologized and admitted his mistake, just accept it." Li Che glared at Qiu Bai.

Although he hated this kind of feudal class distinction, Li Che also knew that one cannot become fat in one bite.

Even in later society, there is still a long way to go to achieve equality for all.

But at least under his command, there can be no distinction between aristocratic families and untouchables, which is a broken trend similar to the "caste system" of his third brother.

"Order the entire army to rest on the spot." Li Che looked at Qiu Bai, "We need to re-formulate the plan."

. . . . . .

The north wind was biting, and the Ninggu County City was like an icy cage, crawling on the vast earth.

The city is full of broken walls and snow-covered ruins, exuding a sense of desolation everywhere.

Wang Liu tightened his tattered coat and blew a puff of white air onto his frozen hands.

This damn place is really freezing cold.

As a native of Jiangnan, he had never experienced such extreme cold. He felt that the biting cold seemed to freeze his blood.

Fortunately, before entering the city, Team Yan had everyone sew animal skins inside their clothes, which was enough to barely resist the cold.

Wang Liu was originally a ruffian in the Jiangnan water town. Later, he accidentally killed someone in a dispute and was sentenced to a prison camp.

He was thin, agile, and could walk and jump fast, so he was noticed by Yan San and transferred to the scout camp.

In Mangdang Mountain, he used his agility to kill a bandit spy with his own hands and was promoted to sergeant for his merit.

After entering Ninggu County, Yan San let them move around on their own and collect intelligence in the city.

Wang Liu strolled along the dilapidated streets, looking at the bodies frozen to death under the eaves. The chill in his heart was even lower than the temperature at that time.

Human life is really cheaper than a dog's...

Suddenly, Wang Liu saw several men passing by in a hurry.

It’s not surprising that there are men, as men are the most numerous in Ninggu County.

The strong women were abducted by the barbarians and gave birth to children for them, while the weak women found it difficult to survive the winter that had just passed.

But what surprised Wang Liu was that the men around him were in a hurry. After talking to each other, they were all rushing to one place.

As a scout, Wang Liu immediately noticed that something was wrong.

He straightened his body, raised his feet, and followed the crowd silently.

Passing through a section of ruins, Wang Liu was surprised to see that the men had lifted up a stone slab and filed in.

Wang Liu's eyes flashed, and he followed with a hunched body.

There was a pitch-black passage below. Everyone moved forward in the dark and no one spoke.

After walking for about an incense stick of time, torches lit up in the darkness, illuminating several swaying figures, like ghosts.

Wang Liu swallowed, calmed himself down, and looked around carefully.

I saw that the entrances of the underground passages were connected and extended in all directions, just like an underground city.

Wang Liu was surprised. He had heard in the martial arts world in his early years that there were many ditches in the imperial capital, forming a complex underground drainage system, where many criminals hid.

Thus, a unique lawless place was formed, named "Ghost Fanlou".

Unexpectedly, this small Ninggu County City actually has a place similar to the "Ghost Fan Tower".

Unlike the 'Ghost Tower' in the imperial capital, this place doesn't seem like a lawless place hiding criminals, but more like a refuge for the people.

Wang Liu walked along the passage for a while, and saw mostly the elderly, the weak, women and children. Although they were all pale and thin, at least they were still alive and there was still hope in their eyes.

There were also men patrolling with crude weapons, clearly in an organized manner.

Wang Liu suppressed his shock and walked towards the place where the crowd was the most.

Soon, they arrived at a spacious place similar to a hall, and the men who walked in with Wang Liu also stopped.

Everyone turned their expectant eyes towards a high platform in the center of the hall.

A thin man in a washed-out robe stood on a high platform.

"Mr. Zhuge." Everyone bowed and saluted the man, and the respect in their tone was real.

Wang Liu suppressed his curiosity and bowed with everyone else.

"There's no need to be so polite." Mr. Zhuge's voice was gentle, giving people a feeling of being bathed in spring breeze.

Everyone stood up and waited for the gentleman to speak.

Mr. Zhuge said slowly:

"I've risked calling you all here today because spring is approaching, and the backlog of imperial prisoners sent to Ninggu County over the winter is substantial."

"I'm afraid it won't be long before those Mohe people come into the city to forage again."

The barbarians plundered everywhere in the name of horse herding and used it as military pay, which was commonly known as "dacaogu".

There was an uproar in the audience.

Someone angrily replied, "We can't survive any longer, and the barbarians are still trying to plunder us. We might as well fight them!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone echoed them angrily.

The people of the Central Plains are the most docile people. As long as they can have something to eat and not starve to death, they will not take the risk of resorting to war.

But in this Ninggu County City, the upper class colluded with the barbarians and really left no one with a chance to survive.

Even a rabbit will bite when it is angry, let alone these ordinary people.

Mr. Zhuge shook his head and waited for everyone to calm down before speaking:

"It's not that we didn't resist, but what was the result? Tens of thousands of civilians were left unarmed, and more than half were brutally slaughtered by the barbarians!"

He paused and said earnestly:

"The government doesn't care about our lives, but we must cherish them! Be patient, and there's hope!"