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

"The Simu tribe had 3,500 people, the Mojie tribe had 2,000 people, the Gunli tribe had 900 people, the Kushuo tribe had 800 people, and the Funie tribe had 1,000 people."

Zhuge Zhe was counting the money on the side:

"Including the captives from the Kurisue tribe, there are already more than 10,000 people."

While the other generals were beaming with joy, immersed in the achievement of defeating the Mohe tribe, Zhuge Zhe looked at Li Che with a worried look on his face:

"Your Highness, with ten thousand more mouths to feed, food is becoming even more scarce."

"These 10,000 people cannot be trusted, and we still have to arrange for people to look after them and find them accommodation. These things are extremely time-consuming."

Li Che frowned.

Although it is a bit annoying to be asked these questions when you are at your happiest moment.

But Li Che knew clearly that his subordinates lacked someone like Zhuge Zhe who could identify shortcomings and fill them up, and who dared to speak out and give advice.

Wang Sanchun grinned cruelly and said, "Why not kill all the men and save some food?"

Li Che looked at Wang Sanchun. This guy was a complete killer. How could he be so cruel?

Wang Laosi added: "I think what Big Brother said is right. After we kill them and make them into jerky, we can provide food for those women."

Li Che's eyes widened.

Okay, okay, these two brothers are more powerful than the other, right?

"Didn't we seize a lot of cattle and sheep?" Li Che asked, "Isn't the meat enough?"

Zhuge Zhe smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, you don't know that cattle and sheep have just gone through a winter, and the meat on them is at its lowest right now. It would be a shame to slaughter them like this."

Herders have no land; their livestock are their land.

If you want to harvest from raising cattle and sheep, besides the offspring they give birth to, the other thing you rely on is the meat they grow on their bodies.

If they are slaughtered right after winter, the farmers will have no harvest.

Therefore, some tribes would rather starve their own people to death than slaughter their livestock at this time.

"Slaughtering cattle and sheep at this time will indeed greatly reduce our income this time." Li Che thought thoughtfully.

Food has always been the number one problem I face.

Even though they made a lot of purchases along the way and even robbed a large number of them from the Yan family, it was still not enough.

Food is needed to support the army, food is needed to win the hearts of the people in Ninggu County, and food is even more needed to fight wars.

Just as Li Che was thinking, Jie Ming, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke:

"Your Highness, I have a way to help you raise food. The amount won't be much, but it will be enough to relieve your immediate needs."

"Oh?" Li Che looked at Jie Ming.

At this moment, Jie Ming no longer had the rebellious look he had before, but became humble and docile.

Obviously, the Ninggu army's heavy blow to the Mohe people tonight conquered the captain of the Huanguo army.

"tell me the story."

Jie Ming said, "I am a hunter by birth. It is the spring hunting season now. Your Highness can send people to hunt wild animals in the mountains to provide food and grass."

"Southeast of Ninggu County lies a mountain called Phoenix Mountain. It is lush with trees and has rolling hills, where many wild animals live."

"Your Highness only needs to allocate me three battalions of troops. I am confident that I can provide you with enough meat to sustain you for a month."

Li Che smiled slightly: "You are so active, I am afraid you have something to ask for?"

Jie Ming was shocked and fell to his knees: "I only hope that Your Highness will send troops to rescue our Marshal as soon as possible."

Li Che did not express his opinion, but nodded: "I'll leave this matter to you. I'll give you four battalions of troops, and I'll go there when the time comes."

"Yes." Jie Ming bowed and then stepped behind the crowd.

Wang Sanchun asked Li Che, "Your Highness, the Mohe people still have three tribes. When are we going to attack them?"

The Limo tribe had eight small tribes under its jurisdiction, five of which were wiped out by Li Che in one go, and the other three that were farther away escaped.

I had a great time killing Wang Sanchun and the others tonight.

These barbarians were described as extremely brutal, as if they were all bloodthirsty beasts.

Before tonight, even fierce criminals and bandits like Wang Sanchun felt a little scared at the thought of fighting with the barbarians.

The results of it?

Barbarians are also human beings. They will bleed if they are cut, and they will die if they are killed.

Taking advantage of the night attack, killing them is no different from killing chickens. These are all real military achievements.

After today, I wonder how many soldiers will be promoted.

Everyone was in high spirits. Although they had been fighting all night without sleep, no one wanted to rest. They all wanted to add a few more heads to their military merit list.

Li Che shook his head: "Let's keep those three tribes. The journey is long, and attacking them will not be worth the loss."

Li Che was very clear-headed and knew what he wanted.

The goal was achieved by destroying the Limo tribe and breaking up five other tribes.

Now that it is bright outside, the conditions for a surprise attack have been lost. If we continue to attack the other three tribes, it would be more trouble than gain if something unexpected happens.

Keeping them has many benefits.

First of all, you can use these three tribes to spread your battle records and intimidate other barbarians nearby.

Secondly, these three tribes were all in the north, bordering the Khitan territory.

If these three tribes were pacified, there would no longer be any barrier between Ninggu County and the Khitans.

For Ninggu County now, the best way is to develop slowly and there is no need to fall into the quagmire of war too early.

After hearing what Li Che said, Wang Sanchun and others were unwilling, but they had no objection.

After resting for a while, the army happily headed towards Ninggu County City, carrying a lot of spoils and prisoners.

. . . . . .

Li Che was in high spirits, but there was panic in Shanhaiguan.

The city walls were filled with fully armed soldiers, bows and crossbows were drawn, and the city gates were tightly closed.

Xue Zhen stood on the city wall in military uniform, his body straight and his expression serious.

But if you look closely, you will find two big dark circles under his eyes.

Xue Zhen was in great trouble last night.

First, the sentry discovered a fire in the northeast.

Then, shouts and screams were heard in the distance.

Then, the sound of horse hooves came from near and far away.

Various signs indicated that the surrounding barbarians were making unusual movements. Xue Zhen did not dare to take it lightly and quickly summoned his soldiers to guard against the enemy.

As a result, I waited for a whole night and didn't see anyone.

Xue Zhen had no idea what these barbarians were doing so late at night.

"General, the scouts we sent out have returned." The deputy general, also with dark circles under his eyes, stepped forward to report.

"Yeah." Xue Zhen came back to his senses and nodded.

After a while, a sentry commander wearing exquisite leather armor climbed onto the city wall and knelt on one knee to salute: "General!"

"No need to be so polite." Xue Zhen waved his hand. "Tell me, what's the situation outside?"

The sentinel commander looked surprised. "Just after dawn, I led my men to visit several nearby Mohe tribes, but... they were all deserted."

"Empty?" the deputy general asked doubtfully, "What do you mean, have they migrated away?"

The Sentinel Commander shook his head. "We were attacked. The camp is in shambles. There are bloodstains and traces of battle on the ground."

"They cleaned up the place very well. All the cattle, sheep, and horses were taken away. Even the tents were moved away."

"We also found the bodies of Mohe people in the camp. Their clothes had been stripped clean and piled up like a small mountain."

The deputy general clicked his tongue slightly, this was too cruel.

The clothes of the Mohe people are even stinkier than your own foot cloth. What are you doing with them?

"Who did it? The Khitans?" Xue Zhen frowned.

"No." The Sentinel Commander took out an arrow from his chest and handed it over. "It was one of our own who did it."

Xue Zhen took the arrow and examined it carefully, his pupils suddenly shrank.