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

After the matter of the witch was settled, Li Che led his personal guards straight to the government office in the city, hoping to find some secrets of the Japanese army.

Although Kaibu Munemasa left in a hurry, he did not leave behind any military secrets.

It seems that Haibu Zongzhen had no confidence in the Fengtian Army, so he had burned all the documents and other things long ago.

In this case, there is no need to stay in Guancheng anymore.

Li Che brought his personal guard back to the outer camp and handed the city over to the Khitan cavalry. After today, they would return an empty and dead city to Li Che.

As soon as they entered the camp, Generals Wang Sanchun and Yang Xuan came forward to greet them.

The two men had obviously just returned to the camp, and their clothes and armor were still stained with blood and dust.

Just as he was about to salute, he was interrupted by Li Che's wave of his hand:

"There are three golden men behind. Find a military blacksmith and find a way to melt them down. Divide them equally and give them to the fallen soldiers as compensation."

The two were slightly startled, and then they saw the three golden figures as tall as a person, and immediately said solemnly:

"Well, Your Highness is wise!"

Li Che waved his hand. He had no intention of keeping the three golden men.

If it is China's own god, it would be nice to keep it as a collection. Li Che also has a hobby of collecting trophies.

But forget about the Japanese devils’ wild god, he’s a dog-like thing, not even worthy of eating shit, so how could he deserve incense?

Li Che dismounted from his horse, and Wang Sanchun ran up happily to take the reins.

Li Che didn't bother to pay attention to him and asked Yang Xuan, "What's the situation?"

"Your Highness," Yang Xuan replied in a steady voice, "The battlefield outside the city has been completely cleared, and our troops are setting up camp to rest."

"A preliminary count shows that over 30,000 Japanese pirates were beheaded in this battle. According to your Highness's orders, no one will be spared in this battle. All prisoners have been dealt with."

"The Japanese troops were scattered, and General Wang led his light cavalry in pursuit, capturing several thousand. The rest have fled into the mountains and forests, making it difficult for them to mount a rebellion."

"Our troops have suffered casualties..." She paused, then finally gave a number, "At least three thousand men, and over two thousand brothers are seriously injured and receiving treatment in the medical camp."

Although it was a resounding victory, it was a desperate fight against more than 100,000 Japanese troops, and casualties were inevitable.

Li Che nodded lightly, but his heart ached slightly.

This is the price that must be paid for war, but he can never get used to it. After all, these are living lives.

"Where's Kaibu Munezada?"

Generals Yang Xuan, Qiu Bai and others looked at each other, with a hint of helplessness on their faces.

Yang Xuan stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, I have ordered all units to search the battlefield carefully. All the bodies of the Japanese generals found have been identified one by one..."

"Hainan Munemasa has not been found. This person... is as if he has disappeared from the face of the earth."

"Disappeared from the face of the earth?" Li Che frowned slightly. "More than 100,000 people were crowded in that small space. How could he, a commander-in-chief, just fly away?"

Just as he finished speaking, there was a burst of quick and powerful horse hoofbeats sounds outside the camp gate.

The sound of hooves was dense, and it was obvious that there were quite a number of people, galloping towards the central army camp.

Then, someone shouted loudly: "Report——"

"General Ma Zhong, return to the camp and surrender the order!"

"Ma Zhong?"

Li Che's eyes suddenly flashed with brilliance, and he stood up abruptly from his position, with a look of anticipation on his face.

"Let's go!" Li Che waved his hand, excited, "Follow me to welcome our lucky general!"

The generals in the tent were also cheered up. They stood up one after another, surrounded Li Che and walked out of the tent quickly, heading straight for the camp gate.

The camp gate was brightly lit.

I saw a young general who was full of vigor and vitality, with a bit of youthful liveliness on his face, and he was jumping off his horse nimbly.

His light armor was stained with dust and blood, and he had obviously been through a lot of fighting, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.

It was the great detective General Ma Zhong!

Behind Ma Zhong followed seven or eight equally dusty light cavalry soldiers, and behind them was a group of Japanese soldiers tightly tied up with ropes.

The clothes of these Japanese were obviously much more luxurious than those of ordinary soldiers. Although their armor was damaged, one could still vaguely recognize the general's uniform.

They were all covered in dust and looked listless, like stray dogs with their claws and teeth plucked out. Where was the ferocity they had on the battlefield?

At this moment, Ma Zhong had just dismounted and was brushing off the dust on his body.

When he looked up, he saw Li Che personally leading a group of Fengtian Army generals to the camp gate to greet them.

He was immediately startled and quickly clasped his fists in salute, flattered and saying, "General Ma Zhong pays his respects to Your Highness! Your Highness personally welcomes me, I am truly honored!"

"Get up first!" Li Che stepped forward and helped him up with his own hands.

Ma Zhong felt warm in his heart and stood up with a chuckle.

Li Che looked past him and cast his gaze at the long line of dejected captives behind him, and asked with a smile:

"Ma Zhong, what 'local specialties' have you brought back for me?"

Ma Zhong grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

He stepped aside, pointed at the captives being pushed up behind him, and began to introduce them in a loud voice:

"Your Highness, please look!"

He walked up to the first prisoner, a short and stocky Japanese general with a hideous scar on his face. He was trying to straighten his back to maintain his last bit of dignity, but was kicked in the knee by Ma Zhong's personal soldiers, causing him to stagger and kneel.

"This beast is Akai Hidetsugu, the top general under Kaibu Munemasa, also known as 'Demon Akai', and is notorious among the Japanese army!"

"This Akai Hidetsugu is deeply trusted by Kaibu Munemasa. It was he who led his troops in a fierce battle on the beach a few days ago. I pursued him for thirty miles and blocked his way by a mountain stream."

"This fellow tried to resist, but I shot him through the shoulder with an arrow, and he surrendered obediently."

Li Che nodded slightly and glanced coldly at the Japanese general.

This man indeed has a strong murderous aura, and it can be seen that he is a capable man. The battle on the beach also caused many casualties to the Fengtian Army. Capturing him is tantamount to cutting off an arm of the Japanese army.

Ma Zhong pointed at the second captive, an old man with a sinister face and flickering eyes:

"This old fellow is Kaibu Munemasa's military advisor, Fujiwara no Toshiyuki. I dug him out of an abandoned charcoal kiln, looking like a rat!"

"Yeah." The cold light in Li Che's eyes became even brighter. These strategists who make plans behind the scenes are often more hateful than the generals who charge into battle.

When the third prisoner was pushed up, he struggled particularly hard, whimpering in Japanese, and seemed extremely unwilling.

Ma Zhong went up and slapped him, making his mouth and nose bleed, and shouted sternly, "Behave yourself!"

Then he smiled at Li Che and said, "Your Highness, this person has a background. He is the nephew of Kaibu Munemasa, and his name is Kaibu Shinsuke."

"This official, relying on his uncle's power, bullies the soldiers and rapes women, committing all sorts of evil!"

"I chased him into a dense forest. He tried to disguise himself as an ordinary soldier and escape, but I saw through his delicate skin at a glance."

"Even his personal guards didn't tolerate him and directly exposed everything he had done. This shows that even though he is a member of the Kaibu family, he is not welcome at all."

Then the fourth, the fifth...

Ma Zhong spoke in a loud voice, and every time he introduced a devil, he would point out his identity, position and deeds in the Japanese army.

The Japanese generals who were named either looked pale or glared angrily, but under the cold bayonets of the Fengtian Army soldiers, they could only be furious and helpless.

These people are all core figures in the Japanese army, generals who control military power, important officials in charge of logistics, and flag bearers who command elite warriors...

Ma Zhong's net almost wiped out all the remaining middle and high-level generals of the Japanese army.

The smile on Li Che's face grew wider and wider, and his admiration was almost overflowing.

This kid Ma Zhong really has something to say.

He is born to be a talent for catching big fish. When Feng Guoan is stabilized in the future, it will be most appropriate to give him the position of Minister of Public Security.

"Good! Good! Good!" Li Che praised three times and patted Ma Zhong's shoulder heavily. "You are really my lucky star! This is a great achievement, you deserve a generous reward!"

Ma Zhong felt a little embarrassed by the praise and scratched his head.

Li Che's eyes swept over the Japanese generals again, but the most crucial name never appeared.

The smile on his face slowly faded, and he looked at Ma Zhong:

"Where's Kaibu Munemasa? Have you found that old thief?"

Ma Zhong's smile froze instantly, and then his eyes showed shame: "I am incompetent, please punish me, Your Highness!"

"I questioned the captives and severely tortured the Haibu clan's followers... They all said that the last time they saw the old thief was in the midst of the chaos. He was seriously injured and was being carried by a few loyal soldiers as they fled deep into the dense forest to the west."

"I led my elite cavalry in pursuit, following the trail for over thirty miles, and killed several groups of Kaibu samurai who were left behind."

"Near a hidden cave, I found blood-stained bandages and a discarded, broken helmet. That armor definitely belongs to that old thief from the Marine Department!"

"But when I rushed into the cave, it was empty. There was only the embers of an extinguished campfire, and drag marks on the ground, leading to a deeper mountain stream."

Ma Zhong lowered his head even more, annoyed, "I followed the trail for a long time until it completely disappeared beside a rushing, icy river."

"The river was icy cold and swiftly flowing. I sent people to search for several miles upstream and downstream, but found nothing."

"I have betrayed your Highness's trust. Please punish me!"

Ma Zhong knew very well the importance of Haibu Zongzhen, and he felt extremely humiliated that this biggest fish slipped through his fingers.

There was silence at the camp gate, and all the generals were silent.

Did Kaibu Munemasa actually run away?

Or was he seriously injured and fell into the river, with no body left?

No matter which possibility it is, the Japanese army commander finally...slipped through the net.

Li Che stepped forward and personally helped Ma Zhong up: "Well, you have done your best. Capturing so many important Japanese soldiers is a great achievement!"

"As for Kaibu Munemasa..." He paused, "He's just a stray dog, seriously injured and dying. Even if he managed to escape, how long can he survive?"

He patted Ma Zhong on the shoulder and said, "I will take back his life sooner or later."

"Now, take the prisoners you brought with you and keep them under guard. These people are no less useful than a Haibu Zongzhen."

Ma Zhong was moved and immediately clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"