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

In the next few days, Li Che did not launch any siege operations.

After three days of continuous artillery fire on food, Li Che ordered the artillery to stop. After all, the Fengtian Army itself was under considerable logistical pressure.

But that flyer was dropped all over the city every day using hot air balloons.

Dugu Hong's response was decisive. Whenever the Fengtian Army's artillery fired, he would send soldiers to patrol the streets to suppress the rebellion.

Based on the impact point, the defenders would immediately come after them, and the civilians would have no chance to snatch the Fengtian Army's food.

Whenever a hot air balloon appeared, Dugu Hong would dispatch a large number of soldiers to various parts of the city to collect the falling leaflets as soon as possible.

In addition, he also controlled all the literate civilians in the city in an attempt to minimize the impact.

However, he clearly underestimated human nature.

The more something is prohibited and the more mysterious it is, the more it arouses people's curiosity.

Although the literacy rate among the people was extremely low, there were many people like the old village head, and the content of the leaflets was spread as early as the first day.

The news had even spread like wildfire in the military.

The soldiers were ordered to collect the leaflets, but many of them secretly hid one in their pockets during the search.

The lower-level officers turned a blind eye and even kept some of it for themselves.

After all, who doesn’t want to have a way to survive after the city is broken?

In some cases, that thin piece of paper can save your life better than the armor on your body.

If the soldiers did this, the civilians tried their best to hide the leaflets.

A wrinkled "life-saving talisman" may be hidden in the cracks of the wall, under the stove, or even buried next to the toilet.

At the beginning, the officers would strictly follow Dugu Hong's orders and execute anyone who hid the leaflets.

But as time went on, the officers began to get scared.

Because there are too many people hiding it...

There are thousands or even tens of thousands of people who have been found openly, and if you add those who have not been discovered, one-third of the people in the entire city are probably hiding it secretly.

Does this mean that all these people should be killed?

Even if the people in the city rebelled before the Fengtian Army broke in, the army would immediately mutiny.

So the officers began to turn a blind eye again.

With the officers' indifference, the situation of privately storing leaflets became increasingly serious.

When the people were trading privately, a Fengtian Army leaflet was even sold for ten taels of silver.

Ten taels of silver is not a lot, but not a little either. Those who have a little wealth are willing to spend this money to buy peace of mind.

It’s okay if you don’t have money. Leaflets are hard currency nowadays and can be exchanged for daily necessities such as food, salt, and firewood.

This invisible panic spread like a plague throughout Luoyang City and began to erode the cohesion of the defenders.

Even Li Che himself probably didn't expect that the Jiaozi and paper currency system he carefully prepared had not yet been implemented, but the hastily printed leaflets were the first to possess monetary attributes.

That evening, Dugu Hong dragged his tired and heavy body back to the mansion.

The mental stress of the past few days has made him look much older, and his body is a little overwhelmed by the high workload.

As soon as he entered the front yard, he caught a glimpse of his eldest son, Dugu Ming, who was hiding stealthily behind the porch pillar, seemingly stuffing something into his arms.

Dugu Hong was already in a bad mood, and when he saw Dugu Ming's guilty look, he immediately shouted, "Ming'er! What are you hiding?!"

Dugu Ming was so frightened that he shuddered and lost his grip on the object in his hand, causing it to fall to the ground with a "pa" sound.

Dugu Hong looked closely and saw that it was a crumpled Fengtian Army leaflet!

Dugu Ming was so frightened that his face turned pale. He fell to his knees with a thud and said in a trembling voice: "Father...Father...I...I am really just curious..."

Seeing that his eldest son, whom he had high hopes for, actually secretly kept this "demon book" that could shake the army.

Dugu Hong was petrified on the spot, his tense nerves instantly broken by despair.

At this moment, he saw the betrayal of people's hearts.

In a trance, he also saw that the city he swore to defend to the death was crumbling from the inside...

"You...you..." Dugu Hong pointed at his son, his fingers trembling violently, "Rebellious son! Rebellious son!"

The next second, Dugu Hong felt dizzy and everything in front of him went dark.

There was a sweet feeling in his throat, and the old blood that had been held in his mouth for seven days finally spurted out. His tall body fell straight back.

"Father!"

"master!"

"General!"

The surrounding servants and bodyguards rushed forward, and the mansion was immediately thrown into chaos.

. . . . . .

Dugu Hong slowly woke up amid the panicked cries of his family.

He forced his eyes open, and what he saw were the tearful faces of his wives and concubines, his panic-stricken sons, and his eldest son Dugu Ming, who was kneeling in front of the bed with a bruise on his forehead.

"Father! Father, are you awake?!" Dugu Ming kowtowed repeatedly with tears in his eyes when he saw his father open his eyes. "I deserve to die! I will never dare to do that again!"

Dugu Hong didn't speak immediately. He just slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his chest heaved violently several times.

He didn't scold his son, nor did he look at the flyer that caused the trouble. He just said with a hoarse voice, "Help me up."

"Master, you just vomited blood and need to rest." The wives and concubines hurriedly dissuaded him.

"Help me up!" Dugu Hong's voice suddenly rose.

Everyone was intimidated by his aura and dared not persuade him anymore.

Dugu Ming and a servant carefully helped Dugu Hong up from the bed.

Dugu Hong's steps were unsteady and his body swayed, but he stood firm.

He pushed away the support and indicated that he could walk: "I want to go to the government office!"

"Father...you..." Dugu Ming's face changed drastically, and his face was full of regret.

Dugu Hong shook his head and said softly, "Father has important matters to attend to and I have to go. You don't have to blame yourself."

Under the extremely worried gaze of his family, Dugu Hong walked out step by step.

When he reached the gate of the courtyard, he suddenly stopped and turned his back to everyone.

After a moment of silence, he looked at Dugu Ming calmly and said, "How many flyers do you have left?"

Dugu Ming shuddered and said quickly, "That...that one! I'll burn it right now!"

"No need." Dugu Hong interrupted him, still without turning back, "Go! Go and find a way to prepare one for everyone in the family."

After saying this, without waiting for Dugu Ming to react, he walked straight out of the mansion, jumped on his horse with the help of his personal soldiers, and galloped towards the government office in the city center.

Dugu Ming stood there in a daze, looking at his father's back stretched out in the setting sun.

He was confused at first, and then a huge fear surged in his heart.

What did my father mean by that?