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

In the fourth year of Wude, before the arrival of early spring, reports of border battles reached Fengtian.

As spring arrives and flowers bloom, not only do animals go into heat, but the Russians also begin to become restless, with rangers repeatedly invading the border.

Fortunately, there were three famous generals, Yang Zhongsi, Yue Yun and Wang Sanchun, stationed in the north, who stopped the enemy's attacks outside the border.

But the atmosphere of war was already very strong. In addition to the regular garrison on the northern border, Yang Zhongsi, after consulting Li Che, transferred another 10,000 Xiwei barbarian soldiers to the north.

Fengtian City at this time.

Winter is not over yet, and the willow trees outside the palace have just sprouted some tender yellow buds that are barely noticeable to the naked eye. The chilly spring weather still lingers in this northern capital.

There was a solemn and murderous atmosphere in the Fengtian Hall.

Seven cabinet ministers, six ministers of state, and generals from various armies gathered together and stood on both sides.

Huai En stood at the foot of the throne, holding an urgent military report, and read in a steady voice:

"From the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to the seventh day of the fourth lunar month, Russian cavalry set out from Yakutsk Fort, crossed the Great Xianbei Mountains, and harassed our garrisons, outposts, and border villages along the Heilongjiang, Udi, and Jingqili Rivers, a total of fifty-three times."

"Our border guards engaged them fifty-three times, repelling all their probing attacks. However, the enemy cavalry moved swiftly, making their extermination difficult..."

When Huai En finished reading, he put away the military newspaper and retreated to Li Che's side.

You could hear a pin drop in the hall, with only the occasional crackling of charcoal fire.

Li Che leaned against the throne, tapping the armrests with his knuckles, his face still calm, his eyes sweeping over the ministers below.

The ministers who knew Li Che knew that His Highness's expression meant that he wanted everyone to discuss the matter.

After a brief silence, the discussion in the hall suddenly exploded:

Chen Gui was still the first to step out, his hair and beard standing tall, his voice booming:

"Your Highness! The Russians are ambitious and will continue to push their luck!"

"It's just a small-scale harassment now, but if we ignore it, it will surely become more rampant."

"If we don't strike hard, they will see our country as weak and vulnerable, and there will be no peace on our borders!"

When the ministers saw that he was ready to make a move, they knew that the Gunpowder Bureau must have come up with some new weapon in collaboration with Fengguo University.

However, the opinions of this head of the Gunpowder Bureau have never been of much value. Everyone knows that he is a war advocate among the war advocates.

His speech was more like a signal, a signal to start a heated discussion.

An old minister walked out of the line tremblingly and bowed slightly to Li Che.

Seeing this, Li Che did not dare to be arrogant and hurriedly supported the other party: "Please ask Master Qian to teach me."

Qian Bin is already very old and his health is deteriorating. He rarely attends court meetings on weekdays, but now he has come in person to discuss the matter.

The old minister nodded slightly, then said softly, "This old minister has only one thing to say."

"The expedition to Yakutsk is a long journey, with a bitterly cold climate. The cost of transporting food, fodder, weapons, and laborers would be astronomical."

"We only just cracked down on corruption last year, and the national treasury is now in surplus. If a war drags on, I'm afraid it will drain our national strength even more."

Wen Zaiyin, Wang Xi and others reviewed the matter.

They did not advocate war, not because they were afraid of fighting, but because they were more concerned about the economic development of Feng State.

From a development perspective, the lands of Liaodong, the four islands of Japan, and the three kingdoms of Goryeo have huge potential, which is enough for Feng State to digest for some time.

As for the extremely cold land in the northern border, it does not have much development value, and fighting a war for it seems not worth the cost.

However, the Feng State court allowed different voices.

Even though all the court officials respected the veteran minister Qian Bin very much, there were still many who expressed their opposition:

"That's wrong. Are we just going to sit there and watch the Russians burn, kill, and loot on my border?"

"We'll surrender a village today and a stronghold tomorrow. Sooner or later, those white-skinned devils will arrive at the gates of Fengtian!"

"If we can't defend the border, how can we talk about development? This battle must be fought!"

"My country has abundant grain and grass, and the treasury is full. Should we not use these money and grain now, and let them rot in the treasury?"

The mature and prudent Wen Zaiyin disagreed: "It's not that we shouldn't fight, but we should focus on strengthening border defenses, building more forts, and clearing the fields..."

Someone else retorted, "If we only defend and don't attack, what will we do if the enemy invades our territory, plunders the inhabitants, and burns down our villages?"

A dispute broke out in the hall. Those who advocated fighting were passionate, while those who advocated defense were worried. Each had his own reasons and neither would give in.

The voices continued to echo in the hall, sparking intense sparks of thought.

Li Che listened silently the whole time, his eyes swept across the faces that were either excited or anxious, and his fingers never stopped tapping.

When the arguments died down, everyone realized that the final decision still had to be made by the person on the throne, and their eyes turned to him again.

Li Che stopped tapping his fingers, and the hall fell completely silent.

Li Che then slowly stood up and said, "Alright, let's end the argument here. Before the New Year, I discussed this matter with Ziyuan and Zhengze."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhuge Zhe and Huo Duanxiao bowed slightly.

Li Che walked down the steps of the throne and came to the huge map of the northern border in the center of the hall.

Then he drew his sword from Qiu Bai's waist and pointed at the stronghold marked "Yakutsk" on the top of the map.

"This is an extremely cold city, rarely visited by people."

"You are right. This place is very far away, the climate is harsh, and it is completely unsuitable for human survival."

"But you seem to have forgotten that the situation that is unfavorable to us also exists on the enemy side, and it may even be more serious."

Everyone's eyes showed understanding.

After all, it was His Highness who was the first to look at the problem from the enemy's perspective and instantly discovered what they had not seen.

"Treating the symptoms instead of the cause is not a long-term solution."

"Only by attacking the nest and burning its roots can we solve the problem once and for all and pacify the northern border!"

He turned around, faced the ministers, and said firmly:

"The king has made up his mind. Gather the elite troops of Fengtian City, draw upon the Mohe and Khitan cavalry, and prepare sufficient food, fodder, and weapons."

"This king will personally lead the troops to support the northern border and send them to Yakutsk! Completely annihilate the ambitions of the Russian nation!"

All the ministers were in awe, no longer objecting, and bowed in unison:

"Your servants, we will obey the king's orders!"

Now that the royal decree had been issued, the disputes within the court became meaningless.

Whether you advocate for peace or for peace, we must unite our forces and actively prepare for war at this moment.

The war machine began to run at full speed.

The threshold of the Ministry of War was almost broken down, and the figures of military commanders, military assistants, and grain and fodder officers from various armies came in an endless stream.

A huge map of the northern border was hung up, densely marked with marching routes, supply points and enemy strongholds.

The crackling sound of the abacus beads never stopped, calculating the expenses of every piece of food and every war horse.

Today, Feng State no longer needs Li Che to formulate strategies and tactics personally. It has a group of outstanding counselors and military advisors to provide advice.

The door of the Ministry of Revenue's warehouse was wide open, and carts of grain, pickled meat, cloth, and medicinal materials were registered, sealed, and escorted by fully armed soldiers, and transported to the assembly camp outside the city.

The air was filled with the smell of tanning from newly tanned leather armor and the burnt aroma of dried grain.

At the beginning, the Fengtian Army’s military rations were of various kinds, and most of them were provided by the people.

Today, the Fengtian Army's rations have been standardized, mainly consisting of fried noodles, dried potatoes, dried sweet potatoes, and dried meat.

The fire in the workshop area was burning all night long, and the clinking sound of hammers hitting anvils was as dense as a rainstorm, forging arrowheads and spear heads.

The air was filled with mist and steam, as if we had entered midsummer early.

In the bedding factory, the women received pensions and worked harder.

With the rapid movement of needle and thread, military uniforms, cotton armor and tents were sewn one by one.

The military camp was even more excited, as the Fengtian Army soldiers were always happy to hear about war.

When the news spread, generals and soldiers at all levels were not afraid. Instead, they were all ready to fight, with their eyes shining.

The training calls were louder and heavier than ever before, the training ground was filled with flying dust and the sound of killing was deafening.

Everyone knows that His Highness has just executed eight generals and dealt with a group of corrupt generals, leaving many coveted positions vacant.

What's more, His Highness is leading the army in person. When we fight with His Highness, the achievements we make are always real and never withheld.

This is a great opportunity to reach the top in one step!

This excited mood quickly spread from the military camp to the entire city.

In the tavern, the soldiers on leave put down their glasses and rushed home.

On the streets, civilians were pushing carts loaded with supplies. Although they were sweating profusely, they had few complaints. Instead, some of them shouted encouragement to the passing soldiers.

There were even many ordinary families who took the initiative to send their extra grain and pickled vegetables to the collection point, saying that they wanted to provide some food for the king's army.

There were even old hunters who came to the quartermaster with their treasured sable furs and begged him to exchange them for copper coins to buy more arrows for the army.

From top to bottom in Feng State, from Li Che to the peddlers on the street, everyone found their place in this huge wave of preparation for war and was busy with it.

Li Che began to appear frequently in armories, granaries, and military camps.

He seldom spoke, but watched with his eyes, occasionally tapping the newly cut armor leaves with his fingers, grabbing a handful of corn to measure the wetness, or silently watching the soldiers drill on the side of the parade ground.

Just as the whole city was preparing for war, a rider came from the south and headed straight for the city gate.

At this moment, Li Che had just finished reviewing a stack of military equipment lists and was rubbing his brows to take a break.

Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried horse hooves sounds outside the palace, and they rushed straight into the palace gate, and no one dared to stop them!

The guard at the palace gate was about to raise his sword and ask, when a dusty figure rushed in:

"Sixth!"

The person who came was actually Prince of Yan Li Lin!

Li Che looked up and saw Li Lin in a tight suit covered in dust and mud, with disheveled hair and red streaks on his face from the cold wind.

His lips were chapped and his eyes were bloodshot, obviously he had been traveling day and night, desperately trying to get to where he was.

Li Che stood up suddenly, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he waved his hand and ordered his attendants: "Quick! Bring some water!"

The eunuch hurriedly handed over the water bag. Li Lin took it and drank a few gulps as if he was snatching it.

Clear water flowed down his chin, mixed with dust, making him look even more disheveled.

Li Che looked at him with a frown on his face, and said in a deep voice: "Don't tell me that you abandoned your military affairs in the south and came here to fight the Russians in the north? No way..."

"No! It's not about the war!" Li Lin put down the water bag and interrupted Li Che.

He slowly raised his head, his voice trembling, "It's the Imperial Capital!"

Li Che's heart skipped a beat and he asked in a deep voice, "Tell me clearly, what happened to the imperial capital?"

"The Emperor is seriously ill and cannot attend the morning court!"

Li Che's body suddenly stiffened.