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

Blood dripped down the sword edge, making a dripping sound, which sounded like a death-threatening devil's voice in everyone's heart.

It sounded like crying and complaining, but also revealed a cold murderous aura.

With this strike of Li Che's sword, he directly severed an unspoken rule that had been passed down for hundreds of years, a rule that even a powerful ruler like Emperor Qing dared not defy:

A king should not kill scholars.

Since Confucianism was brought onto the historical stage, each dynasty has attached increasing importance to scholars.

Even when dynasties changed, people from noble families who were loyal to the previous dynasty would only be exiled, not executed.

This is the privilege of literati and the basic interest of aristocratic families, and the emperor does not dare to touch it easily.

Even if a scholar deserves death and must be killed, the monarch will never do it personally.

Li Che personally killed the head of a noble family in full view of the public. This behavior was tantamount to declaring war on all the noble families.

The hall was silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on the young figure, with shock, fear, and deep disbelief in their eyes.

Li Che squatted down and rubbed the blood on the sword blade onto the long gown of the head of the Changsun family, with a cold arc at the corner of his mouth.

The world is unfair, with most of the power and wealth in the hands of a very small number of people.

Even Li Che asked himself that the future system of Ninggu County could not be absolutely fair.

But he can be relatively fair:

The sword in your hand is absolutely fair.

No matter whether you are a king, a general, or a noble family... if you are killed, you will die!

"Hahaha, you're crazy, you're crazy." Yuwen Tai suddenly laughed crazily, pointing at Li Che and roaring, "You're taking revenge on your own and slaughtering the nobles. Your actions today will surely draw the scorn of the world!"

"No one dares to work for you. Without the support of the world's scholars, you will die in this far north sooner or later!"

Qiu Bai frowned, and seeing that the old man dared to speak rudely to Li Che, he immediately prepared to step forward and kick him a few more times.

Li Che reached out to stop him and looked at Yuwen Tai with pity in his eyes: "A personal vendetta? Master Yuwen, at this point, don't you understand why you deserve to die?"

"Didn't we just deceive you?" Yuwen Tai said disdainfully, "Your father is the Emperor of Daqing, and your mother is a princess of the previous dynasty. This is what your family owes us!"

"You're right. This prince is a vindictive man." Li Che nodded. "You've lied to me for so many years. Given my temper, you're going to have to suffer."

"But, if this is all you have to do, you don't deserve the death penalty!"

Li Che looked at Qiu Bai and Wang Sanchun and asked, "Do you know why I have only just arrived?"

The two of them quickly said, "I don't know."

"I order Wang Hu and Yue Yun to lead the cavalry directly to the tallest building in the city. I will lead my personal guards into the city afterwards."

In any city, the tallest building must be the residence of the most noble people.

Like the imperial palace in the imperial capital and the government office in the county town.

"Do you know where they are?" Li Che narrowed his eyes and stared at Yuwen Tai.

The latter knew he was in the wrong and avoided Li Che's gaze guiltily.

"When they arrived at the tallest building, they saw carved beams and painted rafters, an utterly luxurious structure. Upon inquiring, they learned that it was the embassy housing the barbarian envoys!"

Li Che's teeth itched with hatred when he thought of this: "Is Ninggu County still my Daqing territory? The barbarians on my Daqing land are a hundred times more noble than my Daqing people?!"

"The people of Daqing, on the other hand, can only dig for food in the snow, or even eat grass roots and tree bark. They live worse than the barbarians' cattle and sheep!"

Li Che swept his cold gaze over the family heads and said indifferently, "You all boast of being well-read and pretentious, yet you treat the common people like grass."

"Very well then... I will give you a chance. It will not be me, nor the laws of Daqing, who will judge you... but the people!"

Li Che waved his hand, and a team of soldiers rushed out from the hall and pinned the heads of the families to the ground one by one.

"Tomorrow, I will set up a public trial in the city, and let the people judge your crimes."

"Since you regard the people as ants, then let the ants you call decide your life and death, wouldn't that be great?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the family heads panicked and cried and begged Li Che for mercy.

These aristocratic families have been oppressing the people for so many years. Who among the people in the city doesn't have a grudge against them?

Although the process of a public trial is unclear, everyone knows what the consequences will be if the decision-making power is given to the people.

Li Che waved his hand again, and the soldiers understood. They slapped the family heads hard on the face several times, making them bleed profusely. Then they dared not speak again.

After the family heads were taken away, the hall returned to silence again.

Li Che sat upright in the main seat, but his heart could not calm down for a long time.

"Qiu Bai."

"My subordinate is here."

"Send someone to each camp to check the situation and report back promptly."

"Yes."

After watching Qiu Bai disappear at the door, Li Che looked at the trembling dancers in the center of the hall and said gently, "Don't be afraid. I'm not a good person."

As soon as these words were spoken, many young dancers became like frightened birds and trembled even more violently.

There was no other way, Li Che could only say: "Okay, continue playing the music and continue dancing."

The sound of stringed instruments rang out again, and the dancers suppressed their fear and began to dance again.

Perhaps because they had something to do, they were no longer nervous and their dance steps gradually became smoother.

Li Che admired the dance, but his eyes were not focused and his thoughts were drifting somewhere else.

After tonight, the city of Ninggu County will be named after Li.

But this "Li" is no longer the Li of the Daqing royal family, but the Li of Li Che.

However, how easy is it to control a city?

If the people he brought with him were counted, there were probably nearly 60,000 to 70,000 Daqing people in this city, all of whom needed his protection.

With 60,000 to 70,000 mouths to feed, people have to eat every day when they wake up, and the food consumption is astonishing.

What's more, he had broken into the inner city and killed the barbarians. Those barbarian tribes would definitely not give up, and it was only a matter of time before they came to him.

The defense of the county town is also a top priority.

There were also matters of public trial of the aristocratic families, disposal of the county soldiers, reclamation of wasteland, division of land, and training of new soldiers...

Li Che rubbed his brows. He thought everything would be fine once he arrived in Ninggu County, but he didn't expect that this city was a complete mess.

Everything has to start from scratch.

"Report...His Highness!"

Just as Li Che was thinking, a soldier hurried into the hall and knelt on one knee:

"Your Highness, the Royal and Yue forces are currently storming the Barbarian Embassy and have captured over twenty barbarians. They are now being taken to the county government office, awaiting Your Highness's decision!"

Li Che nodded to show that he understood.

As the soldier turned and left, another man came quickly and passed him by.

"Your Highness, General He has sent word that the city gates have been completely secured and the enemy has been severely defeated. Only a small group of remnants remain in the city, holding out stubbornly."

Li Che said, "Tell He Conglong that if he encounters anyone who puts up a strong resistance, he can just shoot them with a crossbow from a distance. There's no need to fight them to the death."

"They are all diehards brainwashed by the aristocratic families. My soldiers are worth more than their lives."

The soldiers were startled when they heard this, and then their faces showed respect:

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Che withdrew his gaze and let out a long breath.

Ninggu County City is finally his.