Just as the hunting team was being organized in Dongning City to prepare for a hunt in the mountains, bad news came from Shuangcheng Prefecture and Xiande Prefecture in the north.

After retreating from Dongning City, the grassland bandits attacked some prefectures and counties along the way, including Shuangcheng Prefecture and Xiande Prefecture.

In those areas, the population was sparse, and the number of soldiers in the city was even more scarce.

In a short time, several county towns fell.

What surprised Li Xin even more was that the grassland bandits had mobilized an additional number of bandits in preparation for attacking Shuangchengfu.

Upon receiving this news, Li Xin was stunned.

He knew in his heart that even Dongning Prefecture, the capital of Dongning Province, didn't have many soldiers, let alone Shuangcheng Prefecture, Xiande Prefecture, and some of the counties below.

In my memory, some county towns in Dongning Province are just like earthen villages.

There were no brick or stone walls, not even rammed earth walls; it was all just a simple wooden fortress.

The city of Dongning was able to hold out thanks to the recruitment of refugees, the royal guards, and the power of the thunderbolts.

This shows that the situation in other prefectures and counties is extremely difficult!

"Your Highness,"

Wei Jun said with concern, "As far as I know, there are only a few hundred soldiers in Shuangcheng Prefecture and Xiande Prefecture."

To defend the city, I'm afraid...

Wei Jun didn't finish his sentence, but Li Xin understood what he meant.

The implication was that they didn't believe Xiande Prefecture and Shuangcheng Prefecture could be preserved.

Li Xin didn't believe it either.

"How about this,"

Looking at Wei Jun, Li Xin instructed, "Send messages to Xiande Prefecture, Shuangcheng Prefecture, and the subordinate counties and villages."

If you can't hold out any longer, you can abandon the city and come to Dongning.

"I will not punish them for losing their territory!"

"this……"

Wei Jun paused for a moment, then said with some hesitation, "Your Highness, the court is very harsh in its punishments, especially for the crime of losing territory, where beheading is often the first offense."

Such an order, I'm afraid...

Your Highness should really think it over!

Liu Jingxuan, standing to the side, also looked at Li Xin, somewhat puzzled as to what His Highness Prince Xin was thinking.

Moreover, issuing such an order would clearly give the enemy a handle to use against them.

At that time, it will inevitably give the Crown Prince's faction something to say and attack Prince Xin.

How could he come up with such an idea?

"This is ridiculous!"

Li Xin couldn't help but swear, "The imperial court is well aware of the situation in Dongning Province."

It's said to be a province, but how many soldiers are actually stationed throughout the entire province?

Combined, they probably couldn't even defeat our Prince's Guard!

Not to mention the fighting strength of the soldiers in a prefecture or county. With their strength, they can't even defend the city. Are they just going to be sent to the grassland bandits to die if they stay in the area?

What is this if not absurdity?

Li Xin was furious.

"As the saying goes,"

Looking at the two men, Li Xin continued, "If you save the land but lose the people, you will lose both the land and the people!"

If people are saved but land is lost, both people and land will be preserved!

The biggest problem in our Dongning Province is the lack of people and military strength.

Moreover, they are scattered over a radius of thousands of miles.

Therefore, when attacked by bandits on the grasslands, they were stretched thin and defeated one by one.

Why can't we change this situation?

As long as we can gather the people from the surrounding prefectures and counties together.

After we get through this harsh winter, we will be able to organize a powerful army.

"At that time, not only will we be able to recover Shuangcheng Prefecture and Xiande Prefecture, but we'll also be able to recover the eight native prefectures that our Dongning Province lost!"

Hearing Li Xin's words, Liu Jingxuan's eyes lit up.

If you lose the land but the people, you lose both the land and the people.

If people are saved but land is lost, both people and land will be preserved.

These sixteen characters made Liu Jingxuan suddenly realize the truth.

There was a hint of surprise in his eyes as he looked at Li Xin.

I never imagined that His Highness Prince Xin possessed such profound knowledge!

The current predicament of Dongning Province can truly be changed using these sixteen characters.

"Your Highness has a great talk!"

Liu Jingxuan couldn't help but praise, "Dongning Province still has too few people."

There are few people, therefore insufficient military strength.

With insufficient troops, they were unable to withstand the grassland bandits.

Unable to withstand the grassland bandits, the grassland bandits frequently raided the area.

As a result, there were even fewer people.

It's a vicious cycle!

The only way to solve this problem is to increase the population and the military.

Only by gathering the people of Dongning Province together and joining forces can we defend Dongning City and defeat the enemy!

I agree with Your Highness's idea.

However, we can change our wording to avoid giving others grounds for criticism.

"good!"

Li Xin nodded slightly and said, "Handle this matter as soon as possible!"

Wei Jun, the Prince's guards should also be deployed to protect the surrounding refugees as they safely enter the city.

"clear!"

The two quickly agreed.

It's easy to notify the people in the north to evacuate.

The challenge lies in figuring out how these people will survive after arriving in Dongning City.

The food shortage will be even greater!

It seems we need to increase the number of times we go hunting in the mountains.

It's tough!

Although Li Xin was worried, he was not intimidated by the difficulties.

Whether in his past life or this one, Li Xin has always believed in one thing—

Human determination can conquer nature!

Think of those wise men of the past, who braved hardships and overcame obstacles to create a happy life for us all.

They started from scratch and persevered despite all the obstacles.

Why can't I?

I, Li Xin, am a prince who holds military and political power over the entire province of Dongning!

All my subjects obey my commands.

Our starting point is so much higher than that of those sages!

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