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

Chapter 837 You must win!

The army continued to march eastward for about half an hour, and indeed saw that the Wei River made a big turn here, forming an alluvial beach.

A huge locust tree with lush branches and leaves stands by the roadside like a canopy. Under the locust tree, a few simple thatched huts can be vaguely seen, with a faded sign that says "Tea" on it.

This place should be the entrance to Shiwan Village mentioned by the old fisherman.

Li Che ordered the team to continue moving along the road, while he himself, along with Yue Yun, Qiu Bai and more than ten generals, deviated from the main road and headed towards the tea stall under the locust tree.

The closer you get, the more desolate this place becomes.

The tea shed was even more dilapidated than it looked from a distance. The supporting bamboo poles were somewhat crooked, and the thatch on the roof was much sparser.

There were two or three rough wooden tables and a few benches under the shed, but there was no one there.

There was only an elderly couple who looked about the same age as the old fisherman, hunched over a small earthen stove behind the shed, boiling water.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves, the old man raised his head, and a trace of fear flashed in his turbid eyes.

After seeing that there were only a dozen riders coming and that they were clearly dressed in armor and did not look like guerrillas, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly touched the old woman beside him with his arm.

The two men stood up tremblingly, rubbing their hands and coming forward.

"Comrades... please... please take a seat..." The old man's voice was dry and hoarse. "I will make tea for you right away, but... it's just plain tea, I'm afraid it won't suit your taste..."

Li Che dismounted and casually sat down on a bench that looked fairly stable, with a group of military guards guarding him on both sides.

Li Che glanced at the deserted and dilapidated teahouse and said gently, "It's okay. Just quench your thirst. Feed our horses some fodder. It should be fine."

The old man said quickly, "I'm afraid that won't work. We only have hay in our store."

Li Che nodded: "Then find some clean water and feed them some water."

"Hey, good."

The old woman turned and went into the house to fetch water for the horse, leaving the old man alone to work here.

Li Che asked, "Old man, is business here good?"

The old man frantically wiped the worn-out tea bowl, smiled bitterly and shook his head: "What's good about it... You can see, General, in these chaotic times, there aren't many people walking around. The occasional ones are just..."

He seemed to have some hesitation when he was halfway through his words, so he swallowed them back and just sighed.

Li Che asked doubtfully, "I see this place is not far from the official road, so it's a must-pass road. Many people come here to rest, right?"

The old woman fetched some water and tremblingly served a few bowls of hot tea that was barely brown. She added softly:

"It's good enough to make a living... Those defeated soldiers and officers who are conscripting men passing by here, if they don't smash the sheds and take something away, they're considered lucky..."

Li Che picked up the bowl and took a sip.

The water temperature is moderate, but it has an earthy smell, and the taste is really not good.

He silently put down his bowl and asked, "I just heard from an old fisherman that you are from Shiwan Village? Are there many families in the village with a situation like yours?"

Hearing Li Che talking about the old fisherman, the old man's expression eased a little and he sighed: "A lot, of course not a lot... The strong laborers were all caught or ran away, leaving only us old bones and women and children."

"Nowadays, almost no one is farming the land, and it's getting harder and harder to catch fish in the river, but the taxes can't be reduced by a penny..."

The old woman secretly wiped her eyes and said, "My poor son was forcibly taken away two years ago... I have no news from him since then, and I don't know whether he is dead or alive..."

The old man glared at her, as if blaming her for talking too much.

Afraid of upsetting these soldiers, she quickly apologized to Li Che with a smile, "Don't blame me, sir. I just miss my son..."

Li Che frowned and asked, "A few years ago? As far as I know, there was no war a few years ago, so why did the government arrest your son?"

"There's no war, but the court is still collecting labor. Our lives are pretty much the same whether there's a war or not."

The old man was startled and quickly pulled the old woman's sleeve, whispering, "Old woman! What are you talking about? Don't offend the general!"

The old woman seemed to have opened up her mouth. She broke free from the old man's hand and continued to complain to Li Che: "General, I'm not talking nonsense. I was forced to do labor two years ago. They said I was going to repair the city defense. I haven't heard from you since. I don't know if you are dead or alive."

Her voice choked.

"I only have this one son. If we were left alone and kept alive, how would we live?"

She grew increasingly saddened as she spoke, even beginning to blurt out her thoughts: "Everyone says Chang'an City has a new emperor, but whoever it is, it doesn't matter. We're still fighting the same wars, demanding money, food, and lives."

"I see, among the emperors sitting on the throne, none of them truly care about us peasants!"

"Their kingdom was built with our blood and bones!"

"Shut up! You crazy woman, you're courting death!"

The old man turned pale with fear. He pushed the old woman hard and then kowtowed to Li Che: "General, please forgive me! General, please forgive me!"

"Don't take it to heart, that old woman is talking nonsense. Don't tell on us!"

The old woman was also shocked by the old man's violent reaction, and only then did she realize how outrageous her words were.

Li Che was silent, the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the locust leaves, casting mottled shadows on his face.

After a moment, he continued, "Are the taxes heavy too?"

The old woman was about to speak when she was stopped by the old man.

Li Che glanced at him and said softly, "Father-in-law, I want to hear the truth."

The old man was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "The land tax isn't heavy, but there are all kinds of miscellaneous taxes. Not to mention the layers of taxes, I wish I could collect the taxes in three years."

"The grain we harvest from our three mu of land is not enough to pay the tax, so we have to set up a stall to earn some food."

Upon hearing this, Li Che became even more silent.

After a moment, he slowly spoke, his voice even gentler than before: "Old man, I hear your suffering."

He paused, his eyes sweeping over the elderly couple bent over by suffering, and slowly said, "The court's unclear policies have caused the people to suffer. This is not your fault, but the fault of this world."

The old couple was stunned. They never expected that this military officer, who looked to be of high status, would say such a thing.

"Life will get better. After the new emperor ascends the throne, these exorbitant taxes will be eliminated. I can assure you of this."

The old couple was speechless and showed no joy at all.

This sounds totally unconvincing. Tax reduction is the emperor's business. Even if this general has a high status, will the court listen to him?

At this moment, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came from the direction of the official road.

A messenger with a command flag on his back came galloping over, reined in his horse outside the tea stall, dismounted swiftly, and knelt on one knee:

"Your Majesty! The army has already set out and is ready to continue its march at any time."

The old couple was instantly struck by lightning and froze in place, their eyes wide open, looking at Li Che in disbelief.

Qiu Bai and others had no choice but to glare at the messenger.

This kid spoke too quickly, and there was no time to stop him.

His Majesty obviously did not want to reveal his identity, and he had just been scolded by the old couple.

The old couple stood there in a daze, as if struck by lightning, with a look of helplessness on their faces.

The military officer in front of them turned out to be the 'Emperor' they had been complaining about just now, and he had listened to all their rebellious words.

This is simply, simply...

The two men suddenly felt fear coming like a tide. They didn't even have the strength to kneel down and collapsed to the ground.

Li Che quickly had his personal guards help them to the chairs, then turned to the messenger and said in a deep voice: "Let the army set out immediately, I will be there in a moment."

The messenger also realized that he seemed to have caused trouble, so he quickly saluted and ran away like the wind.

Li Che sighed softly and looked at the two old men: "Your suffering, your difficulties... I know everything."

Li Che paused, looked at their terrified eyes and continued:

"Also, you are mistaken about one thing. I am not the emperor sitting on the dragon throne in the imperial capital."

Not the emperor of the imperial capital?

The old man suddenly woke up, and said with trembling lips:

"Are you the Prince of Feng?! Are you the Emperor of Feng from outside the Great Wall?!"

"Sir, who gave me this name?" Li Che smiled and nodded, "Yes, I am Li Che."

After confirming the identity, the old man was suddenly ecstatic.

King Feng! It was actually King Feng!

The King Feng who defeated the Hu people and the Japanese and made the people outside the Great Wall live a good life.

He actually came here and spoke to them so peacefully!

The old woman seemed to have found her backbone all of a sudden, and she forgot her fear. She cried, "We didn't know it was you. We really can't live anymore..."

"I know." Li Che's eyes swept across the barren fields in the distance, "I can assure you that days like this will never last."

"After I pacify the world, my first priority will be to strictly enforce taxes and rectify the administration of officials. I will not allow anyone to exploit the people under false pretenses again."

"We...we believe it! We trust His Majesty the King!" The old man's voice trembled with excitement. He pulled the old woman to kneel down again. "If Your Majesty can say this, it's worth it even if we die now."

Li Che supported them again and nodded to Qiu Bai behind him.

The clerk immediately stepped forward, took out two large silver ingots from his arms and handed them to the old man.

"This...this is not possible, this is not possible, Your Majesty!" The old man waved his hands repeatedly, not daring to take it.

Li Che said decisively: "Take it."

"One ingot is for the old fisherman as compensation for the fish he caught. The other ingot is for you to settle down and live on."

"This world is difficult. You must survive first. My promise will take time to be fulfilled, but I can give you this money right now."

He added to Qiubai: "Remember Shiwan Village, the name of this old man's son, and the year of his conscription."

"After the war, regardless of whether they live or die, they must be given a clear explanation."

"I obey your order!" Shu Qiubai wrote it down solemnly.

The old couple held the heavy silver ingots in their hands, feeling as if they were dreaming, and thanked Li Che profusely.

Li Che said no more, nodded to them, and got on his horse.

A group of military generals surrounded Li Che and headed towards the official road.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, you must win!"

The old woman looked at Li Che's back and suddenly shouted with all her might.

Li Che reined in his horse, looked back at them, and finally nodded heavily.