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

After the heads were chopped off, the crowd slowly dispersed.

Hundreds of bodies were collected, and Li Che ordered the heads to be hung on the city wall for seven days for public display.

Although there are no more aristocratic families in the city, this is Li Che's warning to future officials.

This is the fate of those who exploit the people!

Jie Ming looked at the skulls on the city wall, feeling dazed. The words that His Highness had spoken still echoed in his mind.

I would rather bear a bad reputation for a lifetime than let down the people of the world.

Is there really such a prince in the world who puts the people first?

Suddenly, a hand fell on Jie Ming's shoulder.

Jie Ming's eyes flashed, and he instinctively reached for the dagger at his waist. Suddenly, he remembered that he had returned to the city, not the battlefield, so he stopped abruptly.

Looking back, it turned out to be the man I had just met.

"Why don't you go pick up your mother?"

The man had no idea that he had just been through a near-death experience and was still concerned about Jie Ming.

"The free clinic closes after sunset. If you don't go now, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

When Jie Ming heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, you can go to the free clinic to take a look.

The Prince of Ninggu chopped off the heads of the aristocratic families, perhaps to eliminate dissidents and to set an example for the people.

Providing free medical care to the people actually costs real money.

If they really care about the people, they will not do free medical consultations casually.

"Thank you, brother. I'll go right away."

Watching Jie Ming's figure hurriedly disappear at the city gate, the man shook his head helplessly.

Turning around, he suddenly realized something and shouted, "Hey, that's the city over there, aren't you supposed to go pick me up?"

. . . . . .

In Jie Ming's family, the only person who is not sick is his mother.

The reason he ran away in a hurry was because he wanted an answer.

Or to get an answer for someone else.

Is this Prince of Ninggu really someone worthy of trust?

The free clinic was located in an open space next to the east gate of the city. Although it was called a free clinic, it was actually open-air.

Today's free clinic is about to end, but there are still hundreds of patients queuing up, and soldiers with spears are maintaining order on both sides of the line.

The person in charge of the consultation was the doctor that Li Che had abducted from Yecheng, but the person in charge of assisting was something Jie Ming could never have imagined.

They were women wearing pure white robes!

Jie Ming stepped forward and was about to take a closer look when he heard a soldier beside him shouting:

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? Don't cut in line. Stand in line honestly!"

At some point, a trend of imitating Li Che's accent emerged in the Ninggu army.

When people love someone, they will naturally like everything about him, including his accent that pops up from time to time.

Li Che was also a people-friendly prince. From time to time, he would go to the army in person to understand the lives of the lower-level soldiers and have cordial exchanges with them.

The soldiers were ignorant and thought Li Che's accent was an authentic royal accent.

Little did they know that this misunderstanding would accidentally allow them to learn the authentic Northeastern accent.

"I'm not cutting in line. I'm waiting for someone here." Jie Ming looked honest.

The soldier took a look at him and saw that he had an honest look and did not seem to have any bad intentions, so he ignored him.

Jie Ming smiled and nodded, then turned his attention to the doctors.

A doctor stroked his beard and said to the old man in front of him, "Don't worry, old man. It's just common frostbite. It's not a big deal."

After saying that, the doctor turned to look at a woman in a white robe behind him and said, "Go get some licorice and dried sui."

Then he instructed the old man's family, "These two herbs are common. You can use any amount. Just boil them in water and use it for washing."

As a hunter, Jie Ming goes in and out of the mountains every day, living with wolves, insects, tigers and leopards. He may encounter danger and get injured at any time, so naturally he has some basic medical skills.

Jie Ming could tell that the doctor in front of him was truly skilled and not some charlatan who cheated people.

Putting aside the many thanks extended to the elderly and their families, Jie Ming also noted:

When the doctor was explaining the patient's condition, the woman in the white robe behind him was listening carefully and taking notes.

This shows that these women are not just doing odd jobs here, but are more like apprentices learning medical skills.

In Jie Ming's opinion, this is completely unimaginable.

Although medicine is not as noble as Confucianism, it is also a knowledge that can be passed down from generation to generation. How could it be easily allowed to be learned by outsiders, and a group of women at that?

When the woman came back with the medicine and handed it to the old man, the old man was in trouble again: "This... girl, we have no money..."

"That's fine." The woman in white robe said gently, "You can exchange it for something."

"We just went through a winter and we don't have much extra stuff at home," the old man said uncomfortably.

The woman still had a gentle smile on her face. "That's fine. I'll just keep this account for now and return it to Your Highness when I have money."

"This..." The old man hesitated, "I wonder...how much interest will Your Highness take?"

When Jie Ming heard this, his eyes gradually turned cold.

Since ancient times, lending money on credit has required charging interest, and the government is no exception.

From a macro-business perspective, loans are a good thing, as they allow money to flow.

But when the identities of the lender and the lendee are completely unequal, it turns into a fatal disaster.

Compound interest is a small problem; losing everything is the norm.

It is said that when land annexation was at its worst in the Song Dynasty, farmers not only had no land, but they also had no seeds or farm tools.

If you want to farm, you have to pay rent for the land, and pay another sum of money to borrow farm tools and seeds. The rest is yours.

Add to that the interest and exorbitant taxes levied by the government, and it becomes extremely difficult to survive.

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the official legal interest rate alone was as high as 36%, not to mention the illegal usury.

It can be said that the peasants at the end of every dynasty were almost all forced to rebel because they were crushed by usury.

Therefore, when the old man brought up the topic of interest, he couldn't help but become alert.

"No interest, old man," the woman replied patiently. "His Highness said this medicine wasn't lent to you by the government, but by him personally."

The old man breathed a sigh of relief and expressed his gratitude profusely. Then, with the help of his family, he went home with a large bag of medicinal herbs.

In the eyes of the people of Ninggu County, Li Che, who saved everyone from danger, is more trustworthy than the so-called Daqing court.

Jie Ming took one last look at the doctors, then turned and walked away in silence.

Looking at the vibrant streets and crowds, and then looking at the county government office in the distance, he silently made a decision.

Marshal, this Prince of Ninggu seems to be the one you are waiting for.

Unfortunately, I am just a military man and I really don’t know how to judge people.

I can't tell the difference!

Jie Ming smiled, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes.

It's not like a real man to hesitate. Why don't you just go and take a look for yourself?

Jie Ming turned around and strode towards the county government office.