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

"Your Highness... What do you mean?"

"General, don't be nervous." Li Che's tone was still gentle. "There are only you and me here. Our conversation comes from my mouth and enters your ears. It's okay."

Hearing Li Che say this, Xue Wei not only did not relax, but felt his heart in his throat.

He was not sure before whether Li Che had really guessed something or was deceiving him.

Seeing Li Che so confident, how could he not panic?

Reason told him that he should deny it outright and never admit that he was His Majesty's man under any circumstances.

But his intuition told him that admitting it seemed to be a better option.

Faced with the contradiction, Xue Wei hesitated and chose to remain silent.

Seeing Xue Wei like this, Li Che narrowed his eyes and became completely certain in his heart.

Instead of continuing the cross-examination, he changed the subject;

"Since I came to Fengguo, there have been at least six pairs of eyes of my father watching me from behind. Three of them are officials of Fengguo, two are servants of the palace, and one is now my personal eunuch."

"You are the seventh."

"I understand this. Father is the emperor after all. If he doesn't place people around me, I'll be uneasy."

Xue Wei gritted his teeth and whispered, "Your Highness... is wise."

"What's the point of being wise or not? I just know how to put myself in other people's shoes." Li Che waved his hand. "The reason I'm showing my cards to you is because I want you to do me a favor."

Xue Wei bowed and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

Li Che sighed, a trace of worry on his face. "At first, these spies of the emperor's family passed some news to the capital, but the information became less and less, and eventually they stopped altogether."

"At first, I thought Fengguo's defenses were too tight, and they had no way to spread the news, so I relaxed the surveillance for them... I didn't expect they still wouldn't spread it!"

"I later understood that they were completely loyal to me. They even confessed their identities to me and refused to serve as my father's eyes and ears anymore."

Li Che looked helpless and sighed:

"I have to spread the word! Father finally sent a few spies to my side, but now they are buried in the sea. How can he rest assured?"

"After a long time, will he suspect that I cleaned out those people, causing a rift between father and son..."

Seeing Xue Wei's dazed expression, Li Che was speechless.

Since ancient times, it has been common for the emperor to place spies around the princes. Even if the prince knew about it, the emperor would turn a blind eye unless the prince really had rebellious intentions.

The same was true for Li Che, but his personal charm was too high, and the loyalty of his subordinates was unknowingly raised to the maximum, and all the spies turned against him.

After a while, Xue Wei came back to his senses and asked tentatively, "What does Your Highness want me to do?"

"What... of course, to pass on the message to my father!" Li Che laughed bitterly, "If General Xue doesn't pass on the message, my father will definitely be wary of me."

Li Che felt that what he said was still conservative, and Emperor Qing was already wary of him.

When they were in the imperial capital, Li Che had already noticed something, so he reminded Li Lin to leave Li Xian in the imperial capital.

This time, the rebellion was suppressed, the aristocratic families were killed, and the Xuanjia Army was abducted. Emperor Qing's suspicion will only increase.

If Xue Wei also bowed his head and refused to pass on the message no matter what, God knows what my cheap father would do!

"This..." Xue Wei felt that his brain was not enough, "May I ask Your Highness, is this true... or..."

"Of course it's true! Just do whatever the emperor tells you to do, and don't worry about me."

Xue Wei was stunned, then he bowed and said, "Then...do I need your Highness to review it?"

"No need."

"The general knows."

Li Che then smiled and said, "Okay, you have helped me a lot."

"Go down and pack. We'll leave at noon to meet your cousin at Shanhaiguan."

"Here."

When Xue Wei walked out of the tent, he was still in a daze.

Li Che's words were too dreamy. How could he be so eager to ask the emperor's spies to deliver intelligence?

On second thought, there is only one possibility, that is, His Highness really has no intention of rebelling and naturally has a clear conscience.

Only when the two tigers grunted impatiently did he quickly walk away.

At noon, the Fengtian Army broke camp and left.

Xue Wei was the last thing Li Che had to deal with, and he had no more worries inside the pass.

Li Lin and Princess Yan came to see him off, looking reluctant to leave.

Li Che simply comforted him to guard the State of Yan and hinted that in addition to strengthening the defense of the northern grassland, he should also pay attention to the south.

Potential threats from aristocratic families, other vassal kings, and even... the imperial army.

However, Li Lin was not a smart person and did not understand any hints. On the contrary, Princess Yan understood and said that she would pay more attention. Only then did Li Che feel relieved.

After leaving Yan and walking for a few days, we finally arrived at Shanhaiguan.

Looking at the towering pass ahead, Li Che slowly let out a breath, his heart finally at ease.

After passing Shanhaiguan, I went home...

Although the imperial capital is prosperous and the interior is warm, home is still the best place after all.

Because of the sudden attack by the rebels, the defense of Shanhaiguan has been significantly improved by more than one level compared to when Li Che left the pass.

Shanhaiguan's defense system was originally designed to strictly guard the north, with basically no defense against the southern part of the pass. Even the thickness of the city wall on the south was only half of that on the north.

When Li Che went out of the pass for the first time, Hu Qiang was able to break open the gate by himself, which was also because the southern gate of Shanhaiguan was weak.

And now look at it again.

The wind was blowing fiercely, and the flags were fluttering and gathering like a tide.

Spears were like a forest, and murderous aura covered the entire pass, even the city walls seemed to be slightly thicker.

As soon as the Fengtian Army reached the pass, countless powerful bows and crossbows were extended from the city walls.

"Stop, this is the important area of ​​Shanhaiguan, who are you coming?!"

Li Che used his hands as a cover to block his eyes, looked at the figure on the city wall, and cursed: "This King Li Che!"

The deputy general on the city wall had naturally seen the banner with the word "Feng" long ago, but he still bravely asked, "Do you have any proof?"

"You idiot!" Li Che's face suddenly darkened. "It's only been a year, and you've forgotten how I got in last time, right?"

The deputy general heard the familiar scolding and saw Li Che's face, which became clearer as he approached, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, it is Your Highness! Quickly open and close the door!"

The gates were wide open, and the Fengtian Army entered first, followed by the refugees and the Xuanjia Army.

Li Che was riding on his horse, looking at the broken brick walls around him, some of which were stained with blood, and he couldn't help but frown.

It seems that the rebels' sneak attack was not completely useless, and Shanhaiguan suffered heavy losses.

Soon, Li Che saw Xue Zhen walking towards him quickly with his arm bandaged.

"Your Highness." Xue Zhen still had an icy expression on his face and spoke bluntly, "Why didn't Your Highness inform me beforehand that you were leaving seclusion?"

Li Che walked forward with a smile: "Okay, don't be so tense, look who I brought to you."

Xue Wei, who was behind him, stepped forward bravely: "Brother."

Xue Zhen was stunned at first, then asked solemnly: "Why are you here?"

Xue Wei shrank his neck. He had been somewhat afraid of his cousin since he was a child. "His Majesty has ordered me to lead 3,000 Black Armored Soldiers to serve under His Majesty's command."

Xue Zhen was stunned, incredulous: "You? Followed Prince Feng?!"

Somehow, although Xue Zhen didn't feel jealous this morning, he felt a strong sour taste in his mouth.

No... they are all brothers, how can there be anyone who cuts in?