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

Li Che frankly admitted Huo Duanxiao's judgment that this battle had to be fought.

Of course, there are many reasons why the fight has to happen, and now he wants to hear their opinions first.

Seeing Li Che's gaze on him, Zhuge Zhe's expression became even more serious: "Brother Zhengze is right, but I have a question that I must clarify."

Li Che looked at him: "Just say it."

"Your Highness wishes to attack the Rakshasa. How far will this battle go?"

"Are we to eliminate their stronghold, expel their forces, and make them dare not look east again?"

"Or... do you want to sweep through the country and destroy its empire in one fell swoop?"

This question instantly made the rest of the people in the hall nervous.

Li Che did not answer immediately, but looked approving.

He slowly stood up and walked to the screen where the map of Fengguo was hung.

The hall was silent, with only the sound of Li Che's steady footsteps.

Faced with an unfamiliar empire, even wise men like Huo Duanxiao and Zhuge Zhe had to be cautious, so their thinking had considerable limitations.

But Li Che is different. As a time traveler, his biggest advantage is that he can find answers to his questions from the original history.

In later history, the battle that is most similar to the current situation is the Battle of Yalu River.

That was the first major battle between China and Russia. Li Che could no longer remember the specific battle situation, but the final result was that the Qing Dynasty had a slight advantage. The Qing Dynasty was still quite capable at that time.

But this is not important. What is important is the contract signed after the war - the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

The Qing Dynasty gave up the Nerchinsk region (east of Lake Baikal) and recognized Tsarist Russia's rule over Siberia.

Tsarist Russia withdrew from the occupied city of Yaksa and recognized that the area south of the Greater Khingan Range to the Heilongjiang River basin belonged to the Qing Dynasty.

This treaty was unsatisfactory to both sides. The Qing Dynasty believed that its traditional fishing and hunting areas were being cut off, while Tsarist Russia considered it a humiliation because its expansion was hindered.

But in Li Che's view, the Treaty of Nerchinsk, as China's first modern sovereignty treaty, even if it cannot be called an unequal treaty, will do more harm than good in the long run.

Although the core territory was defended, it exposed the Qing Dynasty's disregard for the strategic value of the border areas, laying the groundwork for the loss of territory in modern times.

Kangxi viewed the Siberian region as a "bitter and cold place outside the Great Wall". Is this really the case? I'm afraid not.

The Siberian region is the key to Russia's strength. It gives Russia strategic depth and rich mineral resources, and its tree resources and water resources are among the best in the world.

冷战巅峰时期，苏联全国44%的生铁、48%的钢、50%的煤炭、30%的石油以及46%的电力都来自西伯利亚地区。

This is a natural treasure trove. Taking over Siberia's resources is enough to support a hegemonic country that can dominate half of the world.

And now, the old things happened again, Li Che naturally would not give up such a big piece of meat.

The battle must be fought!

Not only must we fight, but we must also fight until the Russian Empire is on the verge of death and make it give up all its interests in the Siberian region!

As for the homeland of the Russian Empire, Li Che was not interested.

It is too far away from Fengguo's homeland and is difficult to control.

Even Siberia is terrifyingly large, and in the past, the geese could only be barely controlled by a railway.

In ancient times when transportation and travel were inconvenient, Feng State would probably have to use up all its military forces and resources to control such a large territory.

There is really no need to do such things that are not worth the cost.

Therefore, the best outcome would be to force the Russian Empire to sign a treaty and force it to stay in Eastern Europe, thereby obtaining the mining rights in Siberia.

After a long while, Li Che turned around, glanced at the two important officials, and slowly said:

"It is not the right time to destroy their country. To drive out their power would be to cut the grass without removing the root, which would bring endless disasters."

Huo Duanxiao was slightly startled: "Your Highness means."

A hint of coldness flashed in Li Che's eyes: "This battle is not for a small punishment, but to establish authority!"

"Hit him until it hurts! Hit him until he's afraid! Hit him so hard that he won't dare take another step eastward for a hundred years!"

Zhuge Zhe's eyes widened. "Your Highness, do you mean to annihilate this Rakshasa army, or even destroy that city?"

Li Che slowly shook his head: "Not only that, we must also hunt down the remaining enemies and liberate all the people in Fanwai who are controlled by them and have paid the 'fur tax'."

"Beat them until they wag their tails and beg for mercy, until their empress is forced to come out and ask for peace and negotiation with me!"

Li Che smiled slightly and sat back in his seat calmly:

"Then, I will mercifully grant them a chance, a chance to preserve their nation's prosperity, provided the Russian Empire never again looks east and lays a hand on this snowy plain!"

The two of them pondered for a moment, quickly thinking about the pros and cons of doing so.

After so many years, the king and his subjects have developed a good understanding of each other.

When Li Che said this, Huo and Zhuge knew that His Highness had made up his mind and his will could not be disobeyed.

As assistant ministers, what they have to do is to help the monarch identify shortcomings and fill them up, and to see the gains and losses clearly, rather than making any more rebuttals.

After a moment, Huo Duanxiao spoke first: "In this case... the troops from the Northern Military Region alone are not enough. Your Highness needs to send more troops."

Zhuge Zhe nodded and said, "Food and fodder are a minor problem; they can be easily found if we save some. But now that winter is approaching, transporting supplies will be difficult. Horses can't run any longer, so we need to build more sleds."

Li Che looked at the two of them with a smile: "For the matters here, I will rely on you two."

When the two heard this, they were both at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

But I'm used to it. His Highness has always been like this, only caring about his own "fighting pleasure" and not caring about logistics and food supplies.

The two men said in unison: "I will do my best."

Huo Duanxiao suddenly thought of something and spoke again, "I wonder how many troops Your Highness plans to send, and who will lead the battle?"

Li Che pondered for a moment and spoke slowly, "The war to destroy the Japanese has just ended, and the soldiers need to recuperate. It is not advisable to deploy too large a force. Only 30,000 to 50,000 elite soldiers will be sufficient."

Huo Duanxiao said solemnly, "In this case, we need to send a general to increase our chances of victory."

Zhuge Zhe added, "It's just that... there aren't many generals available in Fengtian City right now."

Just as Zhuge Zhe said, most of the Fengtian Army commanders have been dispatched to various places. There are still many qualified generals in Fengtian City, but if we talk about talented commanders... I'm afraid there are only Xue Zhen and Chang Pan.

However, these two people are not direct descendants of the Fengtian Army. Even if Li Che is relieved to let them lead so many troops, the soldiers under his command may not agree.

Li Che smiled slightly and looked at the two of them: "Who said there is no one? Isn't there another one?"

"Hmm? Who else..." Zhuge Zhe's eyes widened as he spoke, "No way, Your Highness, you want to..."

Huo Duanxiao also laughed in silence. If we talk about the commander with the highest combat record in the Fengtian Army, it is indeed the King Feng of Daqing in front of him.