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

"Report——"

In Dandong City, flags fluttered and the central army tent was filled with murderous intent.

The scout's loud voice echoed in the camp.

"Your Highness! The Jie'an troops are advancing with unstoppable force, having already conquered Southern Suzhou and the three surrounding cities! They are currently preparing their troops in Tiebei Mountain City, ready for battle at any moment!"

Upon hearing this, Li Che's eyes flashed, and the Saker Falcon in his hand flapped its wings and flew high.

He walked quickly to the sand table, followed closely by a group of generals.

Qiubai understood what he meant and pulled down the blue flag of South Suzhou on the sand table and replaced it with the bright red battle flag representing the Fengtian Army!

Li Che nodded, his voice as loud as a bell: "Jie Quan did a good job. Pass the order down and tell him to stay on the spot and be ready to attack at any time."

"Yes!" The scout bowed and accepted the order, then walked quickly.

Soon, another scout ran to the tent:

"Your Highness, Huo Duanxiao's troops took advantage of the enemy's weakness in the rear and launched a surprise attack behind enemy lines, capturing twelve mountain fortresses, fortresses, and strongholds along the southern defense line! They are now dividing their forces to guard them!"

Li Che's expression was startled. He looked at the sand table again and then waved to the scout: "Can you write down all the conquered places one by one?"

The scout said respectfully, "I'll keep this in mind!"

"Okay! Come here and plant red flags in all these places."

"Here!"

The scout did not hesitate, stepped forward, picked up the red flag, and planted it all over the Sand Plate Mountains, like a long blood-red dragon, winding and entwining.

Li Che and his companions looked over and were immediately overjoyed.

Li Che and others looked in the direction and couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

These fortresses and strongholds are small and have few civilians, so there is no economic value in occupying them.

However, it controls the key roads and has extraordinary strategic and military significance.

Now that they have all been taken, it is like a sharp knife pointing directly at the heart of Goryeo!

A safe and fast troop transport channel was opened, and the southern gate of Goryeo was opened!

As long as Li Che is willing, he can send troops south at any time and march straight to the capital of Goryeo.

"Well done." Li Che looked at the scout approvingly and asked, "What's your name?"

The scout bowed and said, "Your Highness, I am Ma Zhong."

"Ma Zhong? That's a good name."

Li Che's face showed a strange expression, and he thought of an old friend.

In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he led his troops to capture Guan Yu and shot down Huang Zhong with one arrow. He was the young general of the Eastern Wu who was known as the God-killer General and the God-capturing General.

"Ma Zhong, right? I'll promote you to sergeant of the scout battalion. Do a good job." Li Che patted Ma Zhong on the shoulder.

The latter's face flushed, and he quickly thanked the emperor: "I will not let you down, Your Highness!"

Li Che did not appoint officials casually. Ma Zhong had a clear mind and an excellent memory. It would be a pity for him to be a soldier. He could be trained to be an officer.

Wang Sanchun also grinned and said with a smile:

"God is truly helping our army! In a few days, our army will be able to reach Liujing and capture that old Korean dog alive!"

Li Che nodded slightly, his eyes gleaming.

If everything goes well, Goryeo will be in our pocket!

It’s time to end it soon. I have to go back to the capital to celebrate the New Year in a while, so I can’t stay on the front line forever.

If we can capture Liujing before this, the overall situation will be decided and we will only need to leave one general here to take charge of the situation.

Li Che thought for a moment and said:

"We will break camp the day after tomorrow and merge with Huo Duanxiao's troops, heading south all the way to Liujing."

Everyone bowed and said, "Yes."

"Are there still enough shells and powder?"

Chen Gui replied, "Only a quarter of the ammunition has been consumed, and there is still ample supply."

Li Che nodded slightly and was about to say something else when someone suddenly came from outside the tent.

Qiu Bai walked in from outside the tent, his face looking a little grim: "Your Highness, the scouts sent to He Conglong's army have arrived."

Li Che frowned: "But what happened?"

Qiu Bai nodded and said, "He Conglong's troops had just captured Mudi Prefecture when the Black Water Mohe from the north suddenly attacked. The vanguard of 10,000 cavalrymen headed straight for Mudi City."

"The city is broken?"

"The city still stood, but several mortars hadn't been brought in yet. To protect the mortars' entry, General He personally led 4,000 soldiers in a fierce battle at the city gate."

"The Mohe people came with great force. Our army was outnumbered and suffered 3,000 casualties."

Li Che had a bad feeling in his heart: "Where is He Conglong?"

"General He personally led the retreat, and all his personal soldiers were killed. His own fate is unknown."

There was dead silence in the tent, and you could hear a pin drop.

Li Che felt a little dizzy and slowly took a step back. He subconsciously tried to hold onto something, but found nothing.

With a 'bang', the teacup on the table shattered, and the scalding hot tea splashed all over him, but he was completely unaware.

He Conglong was the general he trusted and relied on the most. After leaving the criminal camp, he served by his side.

Just as Emperor Qing said, the reason why Li Che always let He Conglong be in charge of defending the city was because he was steady enough, and Li Che felt at ease with him guarding the rear.

In Li Che's heart, He Conglong was to him what Wei Huo was to Emperor Wu of Han, and what Xu Da and Tang He were to Emperor Taizu of Ming. They were the pillars of the empire.

His most trusted general was killed in a surprise attack by the Heishui Mohe.

"Your Highness!" Seeing Li Che's face turn pale, the generals cried out in panic.

Li Che waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.

His eyes gradually turned cold: "The Black Water Mohe, they are a people who eat raw meat and drink blood. I haven't even looked for them yet, but they have come to me!"

The Heishui Mohe were the ancestors of the Jurchens. Li Che had always been hostile and wary of this ethnic group.

The original plan was to wait until Fengguo's industry developed, and then colonize them to provide cheap labor.

Unexpectedly, this group of people were so bold as to initiate an attack.

The generals in the tent were already furious, their eyes were red and their fists were clenched.

"Your Highness! I am willing to lead my troops back and rescue General He!"

"Your Highness! I am willing to go too!"

"The last general invites you to fight!"

The calls for battle were deafening.

Li Che took a deep breath and tried hard to suppress the emotions surging in his heart.

He is no longer a young prince who has just started out. The more times like this, the more he needs to stay calm.

He cannot panic at this moment, and cannot be like Liu Bei, who lost most of his foundation because of a momentary anger.

He is responsible for the safety of the entire army and has to consider the entire battle situation.

Li Che suddenly raised his head and glanced at everyone.

His voice was deep but carried an undeniable firmness: "General He risked his own life to stabilize the war situation and prevent the Black Water Mohe from cutting off our retreat."

The tent suddenly became quiet, and the generals looked at each other in confusion.

Li Che walked to the sand table, pointed to the Goryeo capital in front of him, and said in a firm tone:

"If we return to support them, we can certainly defeat the Mohe army, but we will miss the opportunity to capture Liujing."

"Those barbarians rode their horses, coming and going like the wind. By the time our army arrived to support us, they had already fled! By the time we headed south to Liujing, they would have returned and harassed our rear."

"General He's sacrifice must not be in vain! We must turn our grief into strength, press on, and capture Liujing!"

Li Che drew his sword from his waist and cut off Liu Jing's blue flag on the sand table with one sword.

"By then, Goryeo will undoubtedly be in chaos! We only need to leave a small force to garrison Liujing, so that the main army can be free to completely eliminate the threat of the Heishui Mohe and avenge General He!"