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

Li Che almost leaned his entire upper body on the horse's back, with his cheek pressed against Heifeng's warm neck.

Fortunately, Heifeng's steps were steady, allowing Li Che to maintain his balance and avoid falling off the horse.

On the skyline, the outline of Zhenjiang City is still distant and blurred.

From the crack of dawn to the dusk, he could no longer remember how long he had been jolted on horseback.

Fatigue came over me like a tide, and my eyelids felt heavy as if they were filled with lead and kept twitching.

Every blink of an eye required all my strength, and my mind and body were on the verge of collapse.

Li Che finally regained the extreme sleepiness he felt in high school classes.

Having not slept for more than ten hours, being under great mental stress, and having experienced a series of life-and-death battles, this is almost challenging the physical and psychological limits of human beings.

He just felt dizzy, his ears were buzzing, and all the sounds around him seemed to be separated by a thick layer of water curtain.

In the team, most of the soldiers were in the same condition as him.

Everyone had a pale face and dull eyes, and they were only holding on by relying on their trust in the commander.

The marching troops were silent and depressed, with only the clatter of horses' hooves and heavy breathing echoing.

In contrast, Li Lin, Hu Qiang, Ying Bu, even the sixty-year-old Duke of Wei Zhu Chun and several other military generals, still looked energetic.

Li Che vaguely remembered that he had read in history books that ancient warriors often fought without sleep for several days in a row.

At that time, he also felt that this was somewhat contrary to modern medical common sense. How could humans have such strong endurance? It was probably an exaggeration by the historian.

But now I see with my own eyes that Zhu Chun, who is in his sixties, can still hold the heavy sword steadily after a whole night of desperate running and fierce fighting.

Li Che had to believe that there were indeed gifted generals in this world, whose physique and willpower were beyond the reach of ordinary people.

As for the families of the military heroes who accompanied them, the situation was even worse.

How could these noble people who usually live a life of luxury have ever experienced such hardships of sleeping in the open air and living in fear?

At this moment, most of the people did not even have the strength to ride horses independently, and could only be carried forward by loyal servants or personal soldiers.

Their presence greatly slowed down the entire team's progress, making it even more difficult for this exhausted army to move forward.

On the horizon behind him, smoke and dust appeared and disappeared from time to time. The pursuers from the imperial capital never gave up and were always far behind.

The reason why they had not been caught up and surrounded by them was entirely due to the fact that Li Che, Li Lin and Zhu Chun led their teams to turn around and charge, repeatedly breaking up the vanguard of the pursuers, and barely winning this precious breathing space.

Li Lin rode closer, looked at Li Che's depressed look, and asked with concern:

"Sixth Brother, can you still hold on?"

Li Che blinked his dry eyes hard and straightened his back: "It's okay, I can hold on."

Li Lin gazed into the distance, at the faintly discernible shadow of the city, and said solemnly, "Zhenjiang is a crucial town that controls the north and south, and holds the key to the Yangtze River. With high walls and deep moats, it must be heavily guarded."

"We are exhausted now. If we want to storm it, it will be extremely difficult."

Li Che nodded slightly and did not deny it.

Zhenjiang stands at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, and has always been a battleground for military strategists.

The Yangtze River flows here, and the canal system that the previous dynasty failed to fully connect is also intertwined here.

At the same time, this place is also the base camp of the southern aristocratic families.

Various forces are intertwined, and the aristocratic families have been operating here for generations and have deep roots.

"Right now we can only hope for news from the imperial capital, which hasn't reached here yet."

Li Che sighed and bit the tip of his tongue to make himself more awake.

Li Lin shook his head. "Although we have temporarily repelled the pursuers, the imperial capital can still send light cavalry scouts to take a shortcut and deliver the message."

"Zhenjiang is very close to the imperial capital, and the post roads are well-connected. It's unlikely they haven't heard the news yet."

Since Li Che was in a very bad condition at the moment, Li Lin actually thought more comprehensively than him.

Li Che picked up the water bag at his waist, tilted his head back and took a sip of ice-cold water to stimulate his almost numb nerves.

"In that case, we must try to avoid the city and contact the navy on the Yangtze River as soon as possible."

"Then we'll look for a suitable ferry along the river. Once we board the warship, we'll be safe."

Although Zhenjiang has both the Yangtze River and the canal, the canal has never been fully completed.

This canal is the famous Grand Canal.

The Grand Canal was first built in the Spring and Autumn Period, but it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that the entire line was completed.

It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that it became the main north-south waterway.

Since the canal is not feasible, we have to find a way to reach the sea from the Yangtze River and then return to Fengguo.

As soon as Li Che finished speaking, a burst of rapid horse hooves sounded from the front.

Li Che became alert instantly and suppressed the surging fatigue.

The people around him also reflexively clenched their weapons and looked nervously towards the source of the sound.

A scout was seen galloping from a distance, shouting loudly: "Your Highness! Unknown cavalry spotted ahead!"

Li Che immediately asked in a deep voice: "How many people? Under what banner?"

The scout pulled the reins hard and reported, panting heavily, "About a few hundred cavalrymen, in a dispersed but not disorganized formation, are searching for us. We haven't seen any flags!"

No flag?

Li Che's heart sank.

Could it be that the cavalry sent from the imperial capital came to intercept them?

Or were they the cavalry sent by the Zhenjiang defenders?

Although the Southern Army has always been mainly composed of infantry, cavalry is not its strong point.

But our side is already at the end of its strength. If we are entangled by this new force, the consequences will be disastrous.

"Take me to see it." Li Che took a deep breath and lightly squeezed the horse's belly.

Under the protection of dozens of personal soldiers, he urged his horse to gallop towards a small mound of slightly higher ground ahead.

When we reached the top of the hill, Qiu Bai handed over a monocular telescope.

Li Che took it, adjusted the focus, and looked in the direction the scout pointed.

In the twilight, he saw hundreds of cavalrymen in a search line, advancing in his direction.

Looking at their formation and posture while marching, they were calm and unhurried, with a tacit understanding, and actually had some of the style of the elite border cavalry of the north.

Li Lin, standing by, looked into the distance and wondered, "When did the rebels develop cavalry of this caliber?"

Li Che did not answer immediately, but continued to observe carefully.

I saw that all the cavalrymen were wearing standard black light armor, and the more I looked at it, the more familiar it looked.

His eyes quickly swept across the team, finally settling on the leading general.

This person's figure is not the big and strong physique of a general. Instead, she has a well-proportioned and slim figure. Looking at her side profile, she actually has some of the gracefulness of a woman.

The corners of Li Che's mouth, which were tightly clenched, finally couldn't help but rise up.

"Don't be nervous," he put down the telescope, his voice relaxed. "It should be one of ours!"

Female general, black armor, scarlet cloak.

In the entire Daqing territory, there is no one else who fits this image except Yang Xuan.

However, out of caution, Li Che did not immediately order a welcome, but instead let Ying Bu go alone to meet them first.

He led the main force to hide behind the earthen slope, while the archers quietly prepared just in case.

Ying Bu rode forward to meet them, and the black cavalry quickly formed a semi-encirclement formation, but did not show any hostility.

After the two sides approached each other, Yingbu said something, but cheers immediately broke out from the opposing team.

The leading female general simply shook the reins, broke away from the main formation, and galloped towards the slope.

At the same time, the cavalry behind her quickly raised a black and red battle flag that fluttered in the wind!

"It really is General Yang!" Li Lin saw the general's face clearly and couldn't help but grin. "But how did the Fengtian Army's elite cavalry suddenly appear here?"

At this moment, Li Che felt as if a huge stone weighing a thousand pounds had fallen to the ground in his heart.

He let out a long sigh, and his body, which had been holding up for a long time, felt a little weak.

"They must be the vanguard that came with the navy fleet."

Li Che slowly stood up and dusted himself off.

"Come on, follow me to greet them and cheer up the people behind us."

He turned around and said loudly to the messenger:

"Tell them that reinforcements have arrived and we are... safe!"

Soon, Yang Xuan rode his horse down the slope.

She dismounted swiftly, and in a few steps, she stood before Li Che, clasping her fists and bowing, "General Yang Xuan, I pay my respects to His Highness!"

Li Che forced himself to move forward, and after seeing that familiar face, his tense will seemed to have found a fulcrum to relax.

The extreme mental exhaustion surged up like a flood breaking through a dam.

His eyes went dark, his body swayed uncontrollably, and he fell forward.

"Your Highness!"

Yang Xuan was horrified and screamed in surprise.

He didn't care about etiquette or hierarchy at the moment, and stepped forward and quickly put his arms around Li Che.

Li Che's weight almost entirely rested on Yang Xuan's shoulders, and the scattered hair on his forehead brushed against her neck.

A unique scent mixed with the fragrance of soapberry and the smell of sweat and dust rushed into Li Che's nostrils, bringing a sense of peace to his heart.

Yang Xuan clearly felt the weakness of the body in her arms and was extremely anxious.

She adjusted her posture to better support Li Che, raised her head and glanced at Qiu Bai, Li Lin and others beside her, silently asking about the situation.

At this moment, the surrounding personal guards and generals all looked away in tacit understanding.

Either pretending to look at the enemy in the distance, or lowering his head to adjust the saddle and reins that didn't need adjusting at all.

Qiu Bai stared at the ground even more closely, as if he suddenly developed a great interest in studying the patterns of the sand and stones on the ground.

There was a subtle awkwardness in the air.

Fortunately, Li Che only fainted briefly due to exhaustion and was not seriously injured.

But after a few breaths, his eyelids fluttered open.

Seeing the female general in front of him with a slightly red face, Li Che instantly came to his senses.

Yang Xuan asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?"

Li Che stood up stiffly and said seriously:

"It's okay... I just felt a little tired."

He coughed lightly and forced the topic back on track:

"Why is General Yang here? Where is the navy now?"