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

Tong Wenjun killed the personal guards of the Yan general. What a deep hatred this was.

Li Lin knew very well what personal guards meant to a general. It was no exaggeration to say that they were his lifeblood.

Among the many generals present, at least half of them wished to grind him into ashes.

He had no right to ask the generals under his command to forgive Tong Wenjun, so he could only sacrifice his own face and plead for mercy.

Since their own prince was saluting, the other generals dared not accept it and dodged away.

Zhang Neng quickly said, "Your Highness, you are too kind. Tong Wenjun has made great contributions over the years. Although we hate him, we will not vent our hatred on his corpse."

Li Lin's eyes reddened when he heard this: "I am here, thank you."

Li Che watched from the side and was also amazed.

My fourth brother deserves to be called the "King of Heroes". Although he is not very smart, his righteous heart is the reason why all the generals follow him wholeheartedly.

Li Lin immediately arranged for his personal guards to find the middle-aged man from the Tong family and ask him to collect Tong Wenjun's body.

However, not everyone is as loyal as Li Lin.

"Reporting to Your Highness," the guard said with a strange expression, "The Tong family member said that Tong Wenjun, as a traitor, should not be buried in the Tong family's ancestral tomb. Whether his body is exposed or the news is spread to the world, the Tong family has no complaints."

When Li Lin heard this, his eyes turned cold.

Li Che was also annoyed when he heard this.

The aristocratic family is really... without any emotion at all, so cold and inhuman.

Tong Wenjun was standing up for the Tong family. If the Tong family had not begged him so desperately, he would never have done such a treacherous act.

In the end, he even sacrificed his own life to ensure the safety of the Tong family.

But what was the result? The Tong family immediately distanced themselves from the man who had been most instrumental in saving the family, fearing any connection with the traitor.

"Alright." Li Che saw that Li Lin seemed to be about to explode, so he said, "Let's bury Tong Wenjun in Yan State. I think compared to the Tong family, he would rather rest in Yan land."

Li Lin whispered, "The Tong family deserves to die!"

Li Che was also somewhat helpless. The Tong family indeed deserved to die, but protecting the Tong family was Tong Wenjun's obsession... If the entire Tong family was killed for this reason, wouldn't Tong Wenjun's death have been in vain?

He could only speak comfortingly: "Gather the soldiers first and comfort them."

Li Lin sighed deeply and had to ask his personal guards to collect Tong Wenjun's body first before making any plans.

Half an hour later, the top of the city wall was filled with red flags with gold patterns on them, and Li Che and Li Lin stood on the city wall.

The morning light shone on the earth, revealing the solemn scene of 100,000 Yan soldiers taking off their armor and kneeling on the ground outside the city.

At the foot of the city wall, sixteen bandit heads were beheaded and hung on the city gate, and the expressions of fear on their faces were shocking.

When Li Lin appeared on the city wall, the Yan army soldiers in the front row suddenly became excited.

Although I have learned that His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan is fine, I have not seen him in person after all.

Li Lin's cohesion in Yan area is quite terrifying. The moment he appears, all conspiracies disappear.

The soldiers of the Yan army were not as culturally literate as those of the Feng army. Apart from their respective generals, they only recognized one person - King Li Lin of Yan!

"It's Your Highness! Your Highness is indeed fine!"

"It was a close call. We almost became enemies with His Highness."

"Your Highness is fine, but we have committed the grave crime of treason!"

"Hiss...how could this be?"

"I'm glad Your Highness is alright. Even if you're guilty of treason, what does that mean?"

Hearing whispers coming from the bottom of the city, Li Che waved to the rear.

More than a dozen prison cages were pushed onto the city wall. The old men in gorgeous clothes in the cages were either silent, roaring, or cursing.

"Soldiers," Li Lin said, his face filled with shame. "I am fine. The war here is all because of my poor judgment of people and the instigation of the rebels."

"Don't be afraid, everyone. Ignorance is not a crime. All of you soldiers are innocent!"

Another soldier with a loud voice repeated it aloud, and it spread throughout the army.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief and cheered.

After the situation below gradually calmed down, Li Lin continued, "As for the mastermind behind this..."

Li Lin turned his head and looked at Li Che.

Li Che nodded slightly and stepped forward.

"Men of the Yan army, watch carefully!" Li Che shouted, his blood-red cloak rustling in the north wind. "I, King Li Che, hereby pronounce the crimes of the Wang, Yang, Fan, Lu, and other noble families of the North!"

"Controlling the state capital, oppressing the people, and seizing fertile land is the first crime!"

"Defaming the Holy Lord, spreading rumors, and plotting rebellion is the second crime!"

"Hiddenly harboring ambitions, misleading the Yan army, and plotting treason, this is the third crime!"

"All three crimes are punishable by death. The principal offenders, a total of nineteen direct descendants, will all be charged with treason, and the collateral branches will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for trial. As for you principal offenders..."

Li Che snorted coldly, "This crime is unforgivable. Execute him on the spot to comfort the souls of the soldiers who died in vain because of your instigation!"

The generals and soldiers were in an uproar. They were all soldiers from the north, and they certainly knew how powerful these families were.

In the north, their words are, to some extent, even more effective than imperial edicts.

Could it be this group of people behind this? Why would they do this?

The rattling sound of swinging iron chains came from the city wall, and more than a dozen copper-clad guillotines were slowly raised by winches.

When Wang Yu and the others saw the dark red rust on the blade, they finally let out a dying wail:

"This is a sin-slaying sword tempered with the blood of a living sacrifice! Li Che, how dare you..."

The beheading knife is a knife specially used for capital punishment. Because it was used in blood sacrifices, the ancients believed that people beheaded by this knife would sink into hell and would never be reborn.

People from aristocratic families like Wang Yu cannot be killed by axes even if they die. This is the ultimate insult to them, not to mention that the axe used is the beheading sword.

Wang Yu had only said half of his words when a cold light flashed in the air and more than a dozen fountains of blood splattered on the gray bricks.

The soldiers under the city were trembling in their hearts. Wang Lun, who had survived by chance because he had taken the initiative to expose the truth, felt his legs trembling and his crotch was wet.

Almost, just a little bit...

If I hadn't chosen the right side at the last moment, I would be the one with my head chopped off.

Li Che, however, looked calm. He waved his hand and asked his guards to carry the body away, and then escorted the next group of people up.

The guards dragged the headless bodies to the battlements of the city wall. Craftsmen had already prepared mud mixed with lime to seal the heads.

These heads will also be sent to all states to let everyone see the fate of the rebels.

Soon, another scream was heard.

There were countless heads of people killed on the city wall, and blood was flowing through the cracks in the city wall. The dark red bloodstains were like the tears and blood of the fallen soldiers.

At the same time, the imperial capital held an early morning meeting and decided to change the reign title to "Xuanwei".

Xuanwei comes from the sentence "Xuanwei Desert" in "Shangshu", which is a year name that spreads martial virtues.

The era name was originally established to commemorate the conquest of Goryeo, but because of today's events, it has taken on a different meaning.

The Daqing historian recorded: "In the winter of the first year of Xuanwei, Prince Feng Li Che wiped out all the noble families in the north and hung 300 heads in various prefectures in Youzhou, shocking the whole world!"

Some later scholars even said: "This move marked the beginning of the extinction of the aristocratic family!"