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

Everyone was shocked by Hu Qiang's brute force. Before they could come to their senses, they heard Li Che say this.

His eyes widened in shock.

"Your Highness?" Zhuge Zhe looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Although Yang Zhongsi is a general of the Huan army, he is a loyal and brave man. This king admires him very much."

Li Che said word by word:

"Besides, the soldiers under Yang Zhongsi are all skilled in riding and shooting, and have extensive experience in fighting against barbarians."

"If we can recruit them, or even make them our allies, it will be a good thing for Ninggu County."

As Li Che said, when he heard about Yang Zhongsi's deeds, he immediately felt a liking for his talent.

How to be a good vassal king?

Talent, talent, and damn talent!

A talented general like Yang Zhongsi has the ability to be a top commander, just like Li Jing of the Tang Dynasty, Yue Fei of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Xu Da of the Ming Dynasty.

This kind of talent is rare in a century and cannot be cultivated through training. It depends on fate.

For this rare talent, Li Che is willing to take a gamble!

"Your Highness, you carry the blood of two dynasties. If the court gets to know about this, I'm afraid it won't end well." Qian Bin advised earnestly.

He knew Li Che's temper too well. It would be inaccurate to say that he was eager to recruit talents. He was the kind of person who would rather put his life than his talent.

When he had only more than fifty criminals under his command, he dared to kidnap people in the imperial capital in broad daylight.

Now that he has an army of 10,000 and has met a top talent like Yang Zhongsi, it would be strange if he could restrain himself.

"I have heard a saying: In this world, only the weak need to prove themselves." Li Che said lightly.

Qian Bin and others were stunned when they heard this.

After thinking it over carefully, I found that what Li Che said seemed to go against the words of the saints at first glance, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

"If I had an army of 10,000, the evil Ninggu County families would have no choice but to surrender. If I had an army of 300,000, even if I were to command my own forces, there wouldn't be any dissatisfaction in the court. If I had an army of one million..."

Having said that, Li Che paused and stopped talking.

What he said next would be extremely outrageous.

If I had a million troops at my disposal... Hmm? What did you just say to me? I didn't hear you clearly.

Although the words were a bit rough, everyone understood what Li Che meant.

As long as it can increase his strength, Li Che would rather be suspected by the court.

Anyway, the emperor is far away, and as long as Li Che does not show obvious rebellious intentions, can Emperor Qing send troops to attack his own son?

"But what about the Mohe people..." Zhuge Zhe asked again.

"We need to change our strategy over there." Li Che's eyes flickered. "Passive defense won't work. We should take the initiative to attack."

Zhuge Zhe's eyes widened: "Take the initiative to attack?"

"That's right, let's give the Mohe people a welcome gift." Li Che's mouth curled up slightly, "Tell them that I am here. In the days to come, we will attack, defend, and change our positions on both sides!"

The four words "offense and defense can be changed" are easy to say, but for the current Ninggu Army, it is a huge challenge.

Li Che made the final decision, and the entire city immediately started to operate and began to prepare for war.

When the people woke up the next morning, they found that the soldiers were busy again.

In the inner city, the mansions of the major families were emptied, and their property was stored in the warehouse without being counted.

However, all the privately stored weapons and armor were gathered together, classified, and distributed to each camp.

Perhaps because they were surrounded by barbarians, the noble families of the previous dynasty had no sense of security and kept more armor privately at home.

Combined with the standard armor of the county soldiers, it is enough for all members of the Ninggu Army to be armored.

"The Tang family has 500 sets of armor, the Pei family has 400 sets, the Changsun family has 1,000 sets, and the Zhuge family volunteered 600 sets."

Qian Bin closed the booklet in his hand and looked at Li Che: "These dozen or so families together have more than 6,000 sets of armor."

The corners of Li Che's mouth twitched. The aristocratic family was really damned. With so many sets of armor, it was no different from a rebellion.

They secretly hid armor, oppressed the people, and kowtowed to the barbarians as slaves. I don't know what they were thinking.

"Tomorrow I can only leave you four battalions. I'm taking the rest away." Li Che looked at He Conglong on the side. "Can you hold on?"

He Conglong saluted and said, "The city is as long as the people are there!"

"Okay, I'll try to keep all the armor for you. You won't need it for night attacks." Li Che said.

In this kind of surprise attack, armor is a burden. Not only does it make it difficult to move, but it also makes noises that alert the enemy.

With Li Che's current wealth, it is enough for the soldiers participating in the attack on the camp to wear two layers of leather armor, which has a protective effect not much worse than iron armor.

"The affairs within the city will be handed over to Master Qian."

Qian Bin smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry."

In this night attack, Zhuge Zhe, as the only local, must accompany the army as a guide.

Li Che was relieved to leave the city affairs to the experienced Qian Bin.

He Conglong's character is more stable than Wang Sanchun's. Qian Bin and He Conglong, one civil and one military, will guard the city, so there will be no big mistakes.

Moreover, the barbarians are unlikely to attack the city. They treat Ninggu County as domesticated cattle and sheep. Although they are barbarians, they still understand the principle of having a full meal every day.

On the parade ground, soldiers from other battalions took off their armor and reluctantly handed it over to the four remaining battalions.

The soldiers of the Ninggu Army still do not have exclusive equipment, and armor needs to be mobilized once special circumstances arise.

In Li Che's opinion, this patchwork logistics system is totally unqualified. If it were in the previous life, the logistics officers would have been shot.

But Li Che had no choice. Before a self-sufficient production line was established, the equipment and weapons could only be pieced together.

After changing their uniforms, tens of thousands of soldiers marched in neat rows, their spears in hand held in unison.

Li Che's training method has begun to show results. At least in terms of formation, it has reached the level of military training students in his previous life.

The other generals were already accustomed to this, but Zhuge Zhe, who was seeing this kind of scene for the first time, fell silent.

Zhuge Zhe had never seen the Daqing Imperial Guards, but he had heard from his elders about the Huan Dynasty's Royal Guards.

They were the elite among the elites of the Huan Dynasty army, but in terms of military discipline alone, they were probably not as elite as the army in front of them.

Li Che took off his royal robe, put on armor, and walked to the high platform in the center of the training ground.

The soldiers' eyes all fell on Li Che, their eyes filled with fanatical admiration.

Li Che waved his hand and said with a smile: "No training today, have a good rest, and we will set off after dark."

"Yes, Your Highness!" the soldiers responded in unison.

"Tonight is the first battle between my Ninggu Army and the barbarians. I won't elaborate on how important it is."

"Everyone, you are fighting for this king, for yourselves, and for the sons and daughters of China!"

Li Che drew his sword from his waist and pointed it to the north.

"The only purpose of this battle is to make the barbarians outside the pass sit down and listen to us!"

"After today, we will let the whole world know..."

"After the appearance of our Ninggu Army, even the most ferocious nomadic people in this land will become able to sing and dance!"