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

About half an hour later, a cloud of dust rose from the far reaches of the land, obscuring the sky. The main force of the rebels finally reached the outskirts of Zhenjiang City.

Zhai Yan reined in his warhorse and stood at the front of the army.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at the majestic city in front of him, his face so gloomy that water could almost be squeezed out of it.

The city was eerily quiet, the city gates were wide open, and the tops of the city walls were empty, without a single flag in sight.

"Li Che, you bastard! What the hell are you doing?!" Zhai Yan squeezed out these words from between her teeth.

The deputy general beside him looked alert and lowered his voice, "General, Prince Feng is extremely cunning and very good at using unconventional strategies. This scene... I'm afraid there must be a trick!"

Zhai Yan nodded, suppressed the urge to rush into the city, and ordered:

"Send a vanguard team in to investigate the situation carefully!"

"The rest of the troops, stay put!"

Soon, a group of about 500 heavily armored infantrymen separated from the formation and cautiously advanced towards the open city gate.

Zhai Yan stared at the city gate, his hands tightly gripping the reins, his muscles tensed, ready to turn around and retreat at any time.

Time seems to pass exceptionally slowly.

Finally, several vanguard soldiers quickly returned from the city along the same route and ran to Zhai Yan's horse.

"General! There are only civilians in the city, and no Fengtian Army soldiers have been spotted!"

Upon hearing this, Zhai Yan subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he felt that he was being fooled, anger rose in his heart, and his eyes turned cold in an instant.

Damn it! In the end, Li Che got away!

He actually escaped calmly right under his nose!

"General..." The soldier who reported seemed a little hesitant, and his voice was trembling.

Zhai Yan, who was already furious, shouted angrily, "What's wrong again?!"

The soldier swallowed his saliva and added with difficulty: "A huge change has occurred in the city! Several large families' mansions have been slaughtered by the Fengtian Army. The ground is full of... the ground is full of..."

"What?!" Zhai Yan exclaimed, "Take me to see it!"

Zhai Yan rode his horse into the city under the escort of his personal guards.

The deeper you go, the stronger the smell of blood and burnt food becomes in the air.

The doors and windows of the houses on both sides of the street were closed. Occasionally, a brave citizen would peek out through the window cracks, but would quickly turn his head back.

Soon, they arrived at the area where the powerful and wealthy lived in the city.

From a distance, one could see several extremely imposing mansions. Outside, many people were whispering, but no one dared to approach.

Zhai Yan's soldiers roughly pushed the crowd aside and cleared a passage.

When he saw the situation in the courtyard clearly, even a brave general like Zhai Yan, who was used to seeing blood, couldn't help but gasp.

Inside the high walls of the red gate, in the courtyard, under the corridors, and in the flower hall, there were corpses lying in all directions in various postures, including men, women, old and young.

The blood soaked the bluestone slabs and gathered into dark red streams, which had not yet completely solidified.

On the high beams of the porch, several old men dressed in luxurious silk were hung with ropes. It was obvious that their bodies were hung to be displayed to the public after their death.

Judging from his attire and demeanor, he must be the head of the family or a very prestigious elder.

Destroy the whole family!

Zhai Yan turned around abruptly and roared behind him, "Where are the people from the government office?! Is the Zhenjiang County Magistrate dead? Tell him to come to me immediately!"

A clerk in ashen-faced attire crawled out from the crowd, fell to his knees, and kowtowed profusely:

"General, calm down! Yesterday, the Fengtian Army bombarded the government office, and a shell landed right in the hall. The magistrate, as well as the county magistrate and the chief clerk who were present at the time, were not spared..."

The corners of Zhai Yan's eyes twitched violently, and she suppressed her anger: "What about the Dianshi?! The Dianshi should still be here, right?!"

The clerk's voice was filled with tears: "Replying to the General, the Dianshi... the Dianshi is the head of the local Chen family, and the Chen Mansion is over there..."

He trembled and pointed in the direction of another house where crying came from. His meaning was self-evident.

Zhai Yan instantly fell into a rage: "Is there no one in the entire Zhenjiang City who can stand up and take charge?!"

"Who are you?"

The clerk trembled and almost collapsed to the ground: "I am the magistrate's assistant."

After hearing this, Zhai Yan remained silent.

The so-called aides were nothing more than clerks and advisors hired privately by officials. They did not even have a formal position in the court and could not be considered officials at all.

In this huge city of Zhenjiang, is there not even a single official left?!

The King's move is to fight to the death with all the noble families!

. . . . . .

At the same time, thousands of miles away, in a prosperous capital city somewhere in the south.

The rapid and chaotic sound of horse hooves broke the tranquility of the early morning, and several cavalrymen with command flags on their backs rushed into the city gate like lightning.

He kept shouting at the pedestrians who were blocking his way and headed straight for the government office in the center of the city.

Near another city gate, a group of people gathered at the foot of the city wall.

Men, women, young and old, all stood on tiptoe, stretched their necks, and tried to look at a jute paper notice on the wall.

The common people naturally couldn't read, and the reason they gathered here was mostly out of curiosity.

Although they couldn't understand it, there were always a few people in the crowd who could read and write.

An old gentleman in elegant attire was pushed to the front by the laughing crowd.

"Manager Hou, you are very knowledgeable. Please read to us what is new in the imperial edict?"

"Yes, yes, Shopkeeper Hou, tell us, are we going to increase taxes again?"

Everyone started talking and making a fuss.

The old gentleman known as Manager Hou could not refuse, so he cleared his throat and pretended to be calm as he raised his head and began to recite.

However, just after reading the first few words, his voice stopped, the color on his face faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the hand holding the pipe began to tremble uncontrollably.

The people around him hadn't realized what was happening yet. Seeing him stop, they couldn't help but urge him more anxiously:

"Shopkeeper Hou, why did you stop? Read quickly!"

"That's right, it's just to keep people on edge!"

"Hurry up! We'll go to your house and buy some more cloth."

Shopkeeper Hou seemed oblivious to the surrounding noise. He blinked his rapidly reddening eyes and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty! How could you... pass away!!!"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a bolt from the blue, instantly hitting all the onlookers.

The originally noisy scene suddenly fell into a dead silence, and you could hear a pin drop.

The people could hardly believe their ears, and their faces were filled with confusion.

Your Majesty...is dead?

The emperor who ended the chaotic times and allowed them to live in peace for more than ten years... is dead?

In an instant, wailing sounds were heard everywhere, and crying sounded like blood.

The peddlers, dock laborers, shop assistants, and even the beggars huddled in the corner, all had tears streaming down their faces, and they fell to the ground, beating their chests and stamping their feet.

Their sadness came from the heart and was not at all artificial.

Some people also struggled to squeeze to the side of the shopkeeper Hou, tugged at his sleeve and asked anxiously:

"Manager Hou, could this be a mistake? Is there someone spreading false information?"

Shopkeeper Hou wept bitterly, shaking his head helplessly. "The imperial seal is right behind it. I've lived for over fifty years, how could I possibly be wrong?"