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

boom--

The loud explosion from behind made King Jin's shoulders tremble violently.

He didn't dare look back, or even imagine the tragic scene behind him.

Li Che looked back and saw that the place where the King of Qin and the King of Qi had been was in ruins, with broken limbs scattered everywhere, and the surrounding rebels were lying on the ground, wailing.

The King of Qin used a high-explosive grenade specially made by the Night's Watch. At such a close distance, there was no possibility of survival.

Li Che was silent for a moment, and finally said nothing, but just quickened his pace of retreat towards the city gate.

At this time, the city gate was completely controlled by the Fengtian Army.

Li Che saw Qiu Bai commanding hundreds of Fengtian Army soldiers to form a tight musket defense line inside the city gate.

Seeing that Li Che was safe and sound, Qiu Bai breathed a sigh of relief and hurried forward:

"Your Highness, you really scared me to death." Qiu Bai nervously examined Li Che carefully, "Are you safe?"

Li Che pushed his hand away helplessly: "Don't touch it, it's okay."

Qiu Bai finally felt relieved, and the worry between his brows gradually eased.

"What's the situation now?" Li Che asked.

Qiu Bai replied, "Lao Qu and A Qiang are leading the troops to entangle the rebels outside the city, and Ying Bu is arranging for the families of the military heroes to mount their horses."

Li Che looked up and saw a group of military honored families struggling to climb onto horses with the help of soldiers.

"Are there enough horses?"

Qiu Bai looked troubled. "There are enough horses, but many people have never ridden a horse before. Even if someone leads them, they probably won't be able to run fast."

Li Che shook his head: "It's okay, let's leave here first."

At this moment, a personal soldier came to Li Che leading a majestic black horse.

When the black horse saw Li Che, it immediately neighed happily and touched his shoulders, back and arms affectionately with its nose.

"Black Wind, Black Wind!" Li Che showed a pleased smile and patted his beloved horse's slender neck, "Good horse!"

Li Che jumped onto his horse swiftly and looked into the distance.

Hu Qiang and Qu Jinshan each led 500 elite cavalrymen, charging left and right in the enemy formation outside the city, making it impossible for the rebels to form a formation.

Fortunately, most of the people involved in the rebellion were from the Southern Army and the Southeastern Army. The South had few horses, and the rebels were mainly infantry.

If there were more cavalry chasing him, Li Che really had no confidence that he could escape unscathed.

Faced with infantry without standard firearms, the Fengtian Army's elite cavalry were simply the kings on the battlefield, and they were like a team in an empty land.

"Qiu Bai, send a signal to Hu Qiang and Qu Jinshan, have them withdraw and guard the left and right flanks to cover the main force's evacuation."

Qiu Bai bowed and accepted the order: "Yes!"

Li Che reined in the reins, turned to face the crowd, and said in a loud voice:

"Although we have fought our way out of the city, there are still rebels blocking our way ahead. We must fight our way out!"

"I need five hundred warriors skilled in horsemanship to lead the way for us!"

Zhu Chun was the first to respond: "I am willing to follow Your Highness into the charge!"

Dozens of family guards walked out behind him, all of them with slim build, legs slightly bent, and sharp eyes.

Li Che could naturally see that these people were experienced old cavalrymen.

Cavalry is different from archers and infantry in that they do not care about height and size.

On horseback, you must at least sit firmly before you can draw your bow and shoot an arrow.

"I am willing to go!" Huo Duanren and Huo Duanli stepped out at the same time.

Although Huo Tao was a civil official and had few personal soldiers in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, his three sons were all talented in both civil and military affairs.

Other military heroes also responded, and soon gathered more than 300 private soldiers proficient in riding.

There were also many soldiers in the Jinyiwei who were good at riding. Jinyiwei was also called "Tiqi". Many of them were children of officials and officers. These people had the opportunity to come into contact with horses since childhood, so they were naturally more likely to become excellent cavalrymen.

Soon, five hundred light cavalry were assembled.

Li Che selected another 300 personal guards, and the vanguard team of 800 people in total lined up in a mighty formation, ready to set off.

The rest of the people followed closely behind, guarding their families.

Hu Qiang and Qu Jinshan each led a team of elite cavalry to guard the left and right wings, forming a simple and effective wedge formation as a whole, and launched an attack on the rebel encirclement.

The process of breaking through the siege went more smoothly than expected.

The rebels' infantry formation collapsed like a fragile dam under the impact of the Fengtian Army's elite armored cavalry.

Especially after Li Che raised the Fengzi Wang flag, the enemy's morale dropped even lower.

The reputation of King Feng is not only well-known among the people, but also has a deterrent effect in the army.

When the rebel soldiers finally realized that they were fighting the Daqing God of War himself, the last bit of their will to fight to the death disappeared.

Many soldiers even took the initiative to make way for the team and watched them leave.

Li Che led his army and galloped for more than thirty miles until the sky turned white.

The scouts confirmed that the pursuers had been left far behind and could not catch up in a short time, so Li Che ordered a rest.

Looking back, the soldiers behind him were all panting, and the families of the military heroes were even more miserable. Many of them had pale faces due to the long-term bumpy ride.

Li Lin was still carefully carrying the body of Emperor Qing, while Prince Jin followed silently beside him with a gloomy expression.

Only then did Li Che feel a sense of true return.

The belated sense of reality made him realize that Daqing had undergone tremendous changes overnight.

That night, Daqing lost its emperor and three vassal kings.

Thousands of soldiers became victims of political struggle without knowing why.

Such a brutal struggle for the throne is rare even in history books and can definitely be called a national disaster.

But from Li Che's point of view, this trip was a complete win.

Look what he got:

He obtained the imperial seal and the orthodox imperial edict, and mastered the legal principles and righteousness.

A large number of founding heroes now share weal and woe with him. Their loyalty and ability are unquestionable, which just makes up for the shortcomings of Fengguo's lack of generals.

In addition to the elite forces such as the Jinyiwei and the Anwei that were received, Fengguo's strength was unprecedentedly enhanced, and it had the qualifications to compete for the world with full legitimacy.

But for Daqing, this night was absolutely a disaster.

After the emperor's death, the court was controlled by the aristocratic families, and the world was about to split into two opposing camps.

The era of peace is over.

There is no doubt that the next court purge will be a bloody one, local officials will be forced to choose sides, and the people's taxes will inevitably rise.

The civil war began, and this land, which had been peaceful for twenty years, was about to fall into greater turmoil.

Li Che sighed, dismounted, and took out a map from his arms.

Huo Duanxiao, Zhu Chun and others also came over tacitly.

Li Che spoke slowly: "When we returned to the imperial capital, the cabinet formulated two retreat routes. Let's discuss which route is better."

At this moment, the King of Jin suddenly spoke up: "Sixth Brother."

Li Che looked up: "Third brother, what's wrong?"

The King of Jin shook his head numbly: "I will not go back to Feng State with you."

Li Che frowned slightly when he heard this.