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

The leader was Qiu Bai. He lowered his voice and quickly reported:

"Your Highness, the men sent by Chen Wenrui have just left the west gate and are galloping towards the northeastern seashore. Old Qu has personally led his men to follow them, leaving hidden signs along the way."

"Well done." Li Che's eyes flashed with coldness. "Go inform our people to gather their weapons immediately and attack the thieves' nest according to the predetermined plan and the secret instructions."

"Yes!" Everyone responded in a low voice, with murderous intent.

Qiu Bai was about to leave when Li Che stopped him, saying, "You don't have to go. Stay in the city."

"Ah? Your Highness...this."

"You stay with Lao Si. I'm worried about him being alone in the government office," Li Che instructed. "Notify the fleet and tell them to be ready at all times. Once I capture the pirate leader and establish evidence of Chen Wenrui's guilt, you must immediately seize control of the government office."

Although Qiu Bai was reluctant, he also knew the seriousness of the matter: "I understand!"

Li Che nodded and got on his horse.

With a pull of the reins, the horse neighed and galloped towards the outside of Fuzhou city.

Hu Qiang and other personal guards galloped their horses and followed, like arrows shot from a bow.

. . . . . .

Northeast of Fuzhou City, there is a peninsula that extends deep into the bay.

The terrain here is extremely special. A narrow earthen ridge, only twenty meters wide and slightly above the sea level, connects the peninsula to the land.

It was high tide at this moment, and the turbid sea water was lapping against the sides of the earthen embankment, almost submerging it, making the peninsula look like an isolated island overseas.

From a strategic point of view, this place is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and is indeed an ideal nest for harboring filth and evil.

Li Che led a large group of people and hid in the woods hundreds of meters away from the entrance of the earthen ridge.

Not long after, Qu Jinshan flashed back like a ghost and reported in a low voice:

"Your Highness, Chen Wenrui's henchmen have been eliminated, the bodies have been disposed of, and the thieves' lair has been confirmed to be on the peninsula."

Li Che put down the telescope in his hand and nodded slightly: "I understand."

The commander of Prince Fu's personal guards was a middle-aged general with a burly figure and a resolute face.

This person's surname is also very interesting. It is a well-known compound surname, but all celebrities come from the same family - Xiahou.

Xiahou Xian was also a good general, otherwise he would not have been arranged by Emperor Qing to be by Li Neng's side and serve as the commander of his personal guards.

His eyes gleamed, and he clasped his fists and pleaded, "Your Highness! The thieves' lair has been discovered. I am willing to lead my men as the vanguard and storm it."

"No!" Li Che shook his head slowly, his eyes scanning the seemingly peaceful entrance to the peninsula ahead. "This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. We can't act recklessly."

Xiahou Xian's eyes brightened.

He had heard of Li Che's military achievements long ago and knew that the young prince in front of him might be the strongest general in Daqing today.

I couldn't help but ask with anticipation: "Does Your Highness have any good ideas?"

Li Che smiled, looking confident: "Of course I have a plan."

Xiahou Xian's face lit up with joy: "Please give your orders, Your Highness!"

"storm!"

Xia Houxian: ???

Did you hear it wrong?

Is there any difference between the plan that His Highness mentioned and the plan that I just requested?

Li Che knew what he was thinking and explained with a smile: "Although both are strong attacks, there are still differences."

"In this battle, I will personally lead the charge. Commander Xiahou, you will lead your troops closely behind and follow my orders!"

After saying that, Li Che stood up and ordered Hu Qiang to put on armor for him.

Hu Qiang didn't waste any words. He took Li Che's goose feather armor from the personal guard and helped Li Che put it on carefully.

Xiahou Xian was immediately anxious: "Your Highness, a son of a wealthy family should not sit still in the hall. How can you let Your Highness take on such a charge..."

"Don't say anything more." Li Che's tone was firm and unyielding, leaving no room for doubt. "Commander Xiahou, do you think I'm a weak scholar? I may be young, but I'm a veteran of battles. I've fought outside the Great Wall for five consecutive years, and I've never retreated behind the enemy lines."

"This battle concerns the blood feud of the people of Fuzhou. I must personally command the front lines, control the overall situation, and completely destroy the bandits with the force of thunder!"

Seeing Li Che's determined eyes and powerful tone, Xiahou Xian suddenly felt a bloody smell coming towards him, and was a little dazed for a moment.

Recalling the rumors about His Royal Highness Prince Feng, Xiahou Xian's heart suddenly surged with emotion. It was his honor to fight side by side with him!

"I will obey your orders!"

Li Che said no more, waved his hand, and took a bold step forward: "Let's go...ah!"

Then Xiahou Xian saw that Li Che disappeared from his sight in an instant, and then he heard a "plop" sound.

Li Che fell headfirst into the bushes in front of him.

The air suddenly became quiet.

"Hu Qiang!" Li Che lay on the ground and growled, "What are you doing?"

Hu Qiang scratched his head: "Your Highness, you just put on half of the leg armor and went forward. It's not my fault."

Li Che struggled to get up, his face dark.

Xiahou Xian and other personal guards of the palace came to their senses, their hearts trembled, and they turned their heads away silently.

It's over... I heard that His Royal Highness Prince Feng killed people like crazy, but he can stop children from crying at night.

I saw His Highness embarrassed himself with my own eyes, so I can’t be silenced, right?

. . . . . .

After putting on his armor, Li Che looked around at everyone as if giving a warning.

Fortunately, General Tian Ce still had some influence, so everyone forgot what had just happened without him saying anything.

Li Che led the way, with dozens of personal guards, rushing out of the woods like a cheetah and rushing towards the narrow entrance to the earthen ridge.

Xiahou Xian led 500 personal soldiers from Prince Fu's palace and followed closely behind, rushing towards the peninsula like a tide.

When Li Che and others rushed to the middle of the earthen ridge, still a hundred steps away from the entrance, a sharp whistle sounded.

"Enemy attack——"

Immediately afterwards, dozens of powerful arrows, with a shrill sound of breaking through the air, shot down from the hillside like locusts, covering the entire narrow passage.

"Raise your shield!" Li Che shouted.

Several guards holding leather-covered iron shields immediately stepped forward and protected Li Che in the center.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

The arrow hit the shield hard, making a dull thud.

Behind him, Xiahou Xian watched as the narrow passage was blocked by a hail of arrows, his own troops pinned on the earthen ridge, unable to advance or retreat. He could not help but shout anxiously:

"Your Highness, the bandits rely on the terrain and their bows and arrows are fierce. Why not let me lead my men to storm the hillside?"

"No need." Li Che's voice remained calm, "Let them taste this!"

He waved his hand sharply.

Dozens of guards behind him immediately took off the long object wrapped in oilcloth from their backs.

The oilcloth was lifted, revealing a number of long, dark stick-like objects.

But they were flintlock rifles that gleamed with the cold light of metal and wood!

Today's Feng State already has the ability to mass-produce flintlock rifles, and Li Che's personal guards each have two guns, a flintlock rifle and a pepper bottle pistol.

The guards skillfully loaded their ammunition quickly and then quickly formed two rows behind their shields.

"Aim at the hillside and fire freely!" Li Che ordered sternly.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

A series of deafening explosions instantly drowned out the whistling of arrows, and thick smoke filled the air.

The scorching lead bullets, which were difficult to see with the naked eye, were like the scythe of the god of death, splashing towards the hillside ahead with a speed and power far exceeding that of bows and arrows.

Although attacking from below is not advantageous, this is a firearm after all, which is thousands of years more advanced than the bows and arrows in the hands of the bandits.

"what--"

"my leg!"

"what?!"

Suddenly, a series of shrill howls rang out on the hillside. The bandits had never expected that the other side had such sharp long-range weapons. The lead bullets easily penetrated the thin cover, making their bodies bloody and flesh flying everywhere.

After one round of volleys, the rain of arrows on the hillside suddenly became sparse.

Xiahou Xian and the others were all stunned and stood there in a daze.

They had never seen such a powerful weapon. Seeing the enemies in the distance falling down like wheat being cut, these traditional soldiers who were used to swords, guns, bows and horses were deeply shocked. They were dumbfounded, as if they had seen a magical weapon from a myth.

"This...what kind of magical weapon is this?" Xiahou Xian muttered to himself, his eyes full of awe.

"Don't be dazed, follow me!" Li Che's stern shout woke everyone up.

Taking advantage of the moment when the bandits were suppressed by the muskets and could not raise their heads, Li Che took a fine iron spear from the guards, and led Hu Qiang and a dozen shield-bearing guards, and rushed across the last hundred steps like an arrow, and killed their way into the entrance of the peninsula.

"kill!!!"

Hearing the roars of his guards, Xiahou Xian woke up as if from a dream, and his blood suddenly boiled in his chest.

Following with a roar, Xiahou Xian drew his sword, led Prince Fu's personal soldiers and followed Li Che into the peninsula.

The terrain inside the peninsula is more complex, with reefs, woods and simple huts everywhere.

The Japanese pirates recovered from their initial shock and, relying on their familiarity with the terrain, continued to shoot arrows and deal with Li Che and others.

However, they were facing Li Che's battle-hardened guards.

These guards were grouped in threes, standing back to back in a small battle formation, with one person blocking with a shield, one slashing with a knife, and one firing with a flintlock or pepper bottle pistol.

It integrates offense and defense, like a mobile killing fortress.

The Japanese pirates' sneak attacks were often knocked down by precise bursts of gunfire before they could get close, and even if they rushed forward, they were strangled by shields and blades.

Although the fighting power of Prince Fu's personal soldiers is not as good as that of his personal guards, each of them is a brave soldier selected from hundreds of miles away.

Under the leadership of Xiahou Xian, they formed a tight formation, advanced steadily and cautiously.

The battle lasted for about half an hour. The corpses of the Japanese pirates covered the reefs and sand along the way, and the remaining forces were compressed to the deepest part of the peninsula.

Finally, we advanced to a relatively open rocky beach.

Among the messy shacks, there are several much sturdier rammed earth and tile houses.

Undoubtedly, this is the residence of the Japanese pirate leader and core members.

In front of the largest tile-roofed house, dozens of blood-soaked Japanese pirates leaned against the low wall in front of the house, forming the last line of defense.

A tall, thin, middle-aged man with a hideous scar on his face was hiding behind the pirates, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Hold on, hold on! Anyone who retreats will die! There aren't many of them. Kill them all and you'll get a huge reward!!!"

Hearing the obvious pirate tone in the man's words, Li Che frowned slightly.

These bastards, are they really living a simple life?