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

Chapter 1083: Catch Them All

Aguli didn't understand Li Che's self-address and was unaware of the status of the person standing in front of him.

Although he understood a little about the Qing language, the person who taught him the Qing language obviously didn't dare to teach him the meaning of the word '朕' (zhen, meaning imperial emperor).

However, judging from Li Che's attire and behavior, this person is definitely not ordinary and must be a noble person among the people of Shu.

Aguli was a pure Liao person; he never understood the thought process of the Shu nobles.

Just because he ignored the letter and killed the so-called messenger, he attracted this thunderous fire and the annihilation of his entire family?

Seeing Li Che's matter-of-fact expression, Aguli's facial muscles contorted, his lips moved, but he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

The Liao people also fight, but it's all over women, salt, and food.

The people of Shu are different; they sometimes fight for so-called dignity, morality, and face, something Aguli can never understand.

He suddenly remembered the old wizard's unfinished warning, and looking into the young man's eyes, he felt an indescribable regret.

That wasn't the look of someone coming to conquer, but the look of a master questioning his servant for never answering his call.

Li Che straightened up, no longer looking at his distraught appearance, and said in a calm tone:

"Since the invitations have been sent, and you are unwilling to come, then I have no choice but to come and invite you in person."

"What's the use of saying all this now?" Aguli said, hanging his head. "Defeat is defeat, but death is all that matters. You can have my head."

Li Che looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Who said I was going to kill you?"

Aguli was even more puzzled: "You're not here to kill me, but to seize the salt well?"

Li Che sneered and said disdainfully, "If you just wanted your head, would I need to come in person? Who do you think you are?"

"If I say the word, countless warriors will be willing to take your head for me!"

It's not that Li Che is bragging, but with the strength of his personal guards, such a small mountain stronghold could be breached with just one lieutenant general and a hundred soldiers.

Aguli looked at the group of people: "So, who are you...?"

"I am here to seek cooperation with you."

Aguli: ? ? ?

Cooperation?

Who demolishes the other party's house before starting a business partnership?

Seeing his disbelieving look, Li Che was too lazy to explain further.

These barbarians are impossible to communicate with; they can only be forced to understand human language after being beaten and hurt. Li Che has experience in dealing with this.

He turned his head slightly and said to Qiu Bai behind him, "Take him with you. All those in charge of Black Rock Cave, please leave. The village will be temporarily taken over by our army."

Qiu Bai cupped his hands in acknowledgment and replied, "Yes, sir!"

Li Che then looked at Ying Bu: "Take stock of the salt wells, household registers, and grain reserves. Those who resist should be killed without exception, and those who have fled into the mountains need not be pursued."

"Here!"

After saying this, Li Che turned around and left.

Aguli's throat bobbed, as if he wanted to say something to Li Che's retreating figure.

But Li Che had already squatted down, and was fiddling with the divination animal bones left behind by the old wizard on the ground with great interest: "Not bad, not bad... Keep this thing safe and don't break it. I want to keep it as a collection."

It seems that in his mind, those things were more interesting than an angry and fierce chieftain.

A man named Qiu Bai stepped forward and nodded slightly to the two soldiers holding Aguli.

The two men immediately exerted their strength, twisting Aguli's arm backward even further.

A sharp pain shot through him, and Aguli groaned, still trying to resist.

Then, to his shock and anger, he discovered that these two soldiers, who did not appear to be particularly burly, possessed astonishing strength.

The knuckles were like iron clamps, locking his muscles and bones so tightly they creaked, leaving him no chance to struggle.

This was completely different from the Shu army I had encountered before. Those Shu soldiers were physically strong, much stronger than ordinary Liao people, but they were far inferior to me, who had been blessed with superhuman strength since childhood.

The more Aguli resisted, the more forcefully he fought back, and the stronger the two soldiers became.

He felt like a wild bull in shackles, only able to be half-pushed and half-carried, staggering out of the cave.

The sunlight outside the cave was blinding. Although the village was in a mess, there was no burning, killing, or looting. No one humiliated the women of the Liao people or slaughtered the elderly and children of the Liao people.

The soldiers, dressed in strange dark clothing, were methodically herding the surviving Liao people to several open areas for centralized guard.

To his surprise, there were also soldiers with white bandages wrapped around their arms, moving through the crowd to bandage the wounded Liao people, ignoring the fearful or hateful gazes around them.

Aguli's suspicions and doubts deepened.

What kind of army is this?

Did they really only attack the village for their own benefit?

Now that the village is destroyed, salt and women are within their grasp, yet they are able to resist the urge to plunder and destroy.

Who exactly is that young, yet terrifyingly powerful nobleman from Shu?

Before he could figure it out, he had already reached the edge of the mountain stronghold.

Several prison vans made of sturdy wood and iron bars were parked in the open space, guarded by more than ten soldiers.

The soldiers appeared relaxed, even whispering and laughing among themselves. When Qiu Bai brought the man over, an older soldier who looked like a captain grinned and said:

"My lord, caught another one? Wow, this one looks like a tough nut to crack!"

The person who could speak to Qiu Bai so casually was clearly a close former subordinate of the Fengtian Army.

Qiu Bai nodded and patted Aguli's sturdy back: "The chieftain of Black Rock Cave is someone His Majesty personally requested. Keep a close eye on him and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Upon hearing this, the old soldier looked Aguli up and down a few times, then clicked his tongue and said, "What a waste of that physique. If he were willing to surrender, he could be a good sparring partner in the army."

Seeing that his words lacked respect, as if he were evaluating an object, Aguli couldn't help but glare at him angrily.

The veteran wasn't annoyed at all; he looked back at Aguli with a smile, as if he were watching Hakimi breathe on him.

Just kidding. Which veteran of Fengguo doesn't have dozens of foreign names on his hand? How could he be scared by a mere Liao headman?

Qiu Bai immediately glared at him: "Don't say I didn't warn you, don't mess around!"

The veteran chuckled, said nothing more, and waved for the soldiers to open the door of one of the prison vans.

The prison van was sealed off on all four sides, with only a few gaps in the top letting in light, making the interior appear shadowy.

Aguli was pushed inside, and the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him, then the soldiers bolted it shut with thick iron bolts from the outside.

The light suddenly dimmed, and a murky air mixed with the smells of sweat, earth, and a faint stench of blood rushed towards us.

He squinted, waiting for his pupils to adjust to the dim light, and looked at the figures inside the prison cart.

He felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow and froze on the spot.

The eccentric chieftain of Baixi tribe, the cunning old man of Qingtengdong, the taciturn strongman of Langdong tribe... they were all there!

They sat or leaned against something, all covered in dust and dirt, their clothes tattered, their faces bruised, their eyes looking at him with tired and complicated expressions.

After a brief silence, the Baixi chieftain smirked and let out a short, cold laugh: "See? What did I tell you? No matter how brave Aguli is, he still obediently came in, didn't he?"

The old man from Qing Teng Dong snorted and glanced at Aguli with his cloudy eyes: "Isn't the wall of Hei Yan Dong supposed to be the strongest? It's crumbling faster than anyone else's."

The other leaders sighed heavily and lowered their heads.

Aguli's throat was dry, and his voice was hoarse: "You...you were also captured by the Shu people..."

“They’re not from Shu,” the leader of Langdong tribe said in a muffled voice, a fresh bloodstain on his face. “They’re from Qing!”

“I ignored the message sent by that bastard Yang Tong, and as a result, the village was raided and destroyed by the Qing people just as I fell asleep last night.”

Another leader chimed in, his tone full of resentment: "The Qing people said they wanted to discuss cooperation... What kind of logic is it to come knocking on our door like this to discuss things?"

"If we had known they possessed such martial prowess, we would have surrendered long ago, and things wouldn't have come to this."

The chieftain of Baixi slammed his fist on the wooden plank beneath him and said angrily, "The most hateful one is that scoundrel Yang Tong! His letter was so vague. If he had said earlier that the emperor of Qing wanted to see us, I wouldn't have dared to refuse, even if I had the guts of a leopard!"

"The Emperor! That's the Emperor!"

"The...Emperor?" Aguli suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide open in the darkness, his mind reeling.

The young nobleman's calm tone in the cave, the soldiers' respect for him, the army's distinctive demeanor...

At this moment, Aguli finally pieced all the fragments together.

He was neither an official from Shu nor a general of the border army.

It's the emperor.

The Emperor of Qing!

That legendary supreme being who ruled over thousands of miles of land and held the power of life and death actually came to this desolate mountain in person, just to invite these mountain chieftains to discuss salt affairs.

The Baixi chieftain glanced at him with the look one would give a silly deer in the woods, and said in a hoarse voice, "Otherwise what? Didn't you hear that one refer to himself as '朕' (Zhen, the imperial "I")? That's a word only the emperor of Qing could use!"

"The Qing people's world is not like our Liao people's world, where we can just gather a few villages in the mountains and close the door to become kings."

Aguli felt a tingling sensation shoot from his tailbone straight to the top of his head. He felt that this world was so absurd that he could no longer understand it.

He leaned against the cold wooden wall and slowly slid down, all his previous anger and resentment crushed to dust.

The prison van rattled and creaked along the rugged mountain road.

Carrying the chieftains of several major Shu-liao tribes in southern Sichuan, they headed towards a future they could never have predicted.

Outside the vehicle, the casual chatter of the escorting soldiers drifted in, sounding particularly distant amidst the mournful whistling of the mountain wind rustling through the treetops.

The chieftain of Langdong tribe, who had been sighing all along, also spoke up: "Actually, it may not be a bad thing. That young emperor is young and impetuous. He's probably just running into these deep mountains and forests to show off his martial arts skills."

"We'll soften our stance later, praise him a few times, and then submit to him."

"If we can make him happy, he might feel powerful enough and let us go with a wave of his hand, and even reward us with some gold, silver and silk before we leave."

"At that time, the mountain will still be our mountain, the well will still be our well, and life will continue as before."