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

A general with dark circles under his eyes?

Dark circles under the eyes are a sign of kidney deficiency. No general who can fight in a war would cause himself to have kidney deficiency. Only those playboys would do that.

Information about Fengtian Army generals flashed through Du Fuji's mind quickly, but he couldn't match them up for a moment.

But the characteristic of being "very good-looking" seems to vaguely match the young emperor in the rumors.

He immediately gave up his wild thoughts and asked, "Did that most handsome general ask you to convey any message?"

"He said, he asked me to tell you something—" Gou Wa tried hard to imitate the tone he heard at that time. Although he didn't imitate it exactly, his meaning was clearly expressed. "Please ask Mr. Du to come to the Gao family to see me!"

It was just a simple sentence, but it exploded in Du Fuji's ears like thunder.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to suppress his turbulent emotions, and put on a warm smile again. He gently patted Gou Wa's shoulder:

"Good boy, I got the message across. You've done a great service!"

Just at this moment, the butler came running back breathlessly, holding a new silk dress that he had temporarily requisitioned from some unlucky young master.

Du Fuji took it personally and was about to change it for Gou Wa himself.

Gou Wa shrank back in fear, waving his hands repeatedly: "No! Master Gao, this dress is too expensive, I'll just wear what I have now!"

Gou Wa had never worn fine cloth clothes in his life, so how could he dare to touch this silk dress that looked so valuable?

Du Fuji helped him put on the new clothes without any explanation, saying, "You are a distinguished guest of the Du family, so why can't you wear them? Consider this a gift. Thank you for your hard work in coming here."

After hearing what Du Fuji said, Gou Wa had no choice but to stop struggling. He really didn't understand the ways of the world.

After putting on the new clothes, Gou Wa felt uncomfortable all over and didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

Du Fuji looked him over and nodded with satisfaction: "Very good."

Then, his face turned serious and he quickly instructed the housekeeper:

"Seal off the compound immediately. No one is allowed to approach!"

"Immediately send someone to quickly bring back all the direct descendants of the Du family in the city, as well as all the elders who can take charge, to the palace."

"Tell them there's a disaster that could overthrow the family, and they need to arrive within half an hour!"

"At the same time, order all the private soldiers and guards in the mansion to assemble. Issue them weapons and seal off all entrances and exits to the mansion. Not even a fly is allowed to escape without my order!"

The butler outside the door was stunned and had no idea what was going on.

When he saw that his master had an unprecedented serious expression, he did not dare to ask any more questions and crawled to deliver the message.

Du Fuji once again cast his gaze towards the bewildered Gou Wa and said gently, "My dear, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"

Gou Wa nodded ignorantly.

"Let's go! Eat something with me so we can get going!"

Gou Wa understood what was said and burst into tears with a "wow".

On...on the road?

Spicy meatballs!!!

. . . . . .

The carriage was driving on the slightly bumpy dirt road. Du Fuji sat upright with a serious expression, his fingertips unconsciously twisting his cuffs.

The situation of Gou Wa, who was in the same car with him, was completely different.

The little girl was wearing a silk dress that was obviously one size too big, and her belly was bulging from eating and drinking so much at the Du Mansion.

At this moment, he was leaning against the wall of the carriage, dozing off as the carriage swayed, with a greasy and satisfied smile on the corner of his mouth.

Gou Wa only now realized that going on the road really meant going on the road, not the road to hell.

And...it turns out that the water basin mutton is really as Fendaner said, it is so delicious that I can't let it go even if I slap myself in the face.

Du Fuji had no time to care about this ignorant child. His whole mind was focused on the upcoming meeting.

The closer he got to Xiaogaozhuang, the tighter the nerves in his heart became. Even the familiar suburban scenery outside the window seemed to be covered with a layer of solemnity.

Suddenly, he keenly noticed that there seemed to be unusual movements in the woods on both sides of the road.

As the shadows of the trees swayed, a faint flash of cold metallic light appeared, startling a few birds, which flapped their wings and flew away in panic, but no human voices or horse neighs could be heard.

Seeing this scene, Du Fuji's heart sank suddenly.

Sure enough, the elite Fengtian Army, which was said to be invincible and swept across the north, had quietly taken control of this area.

Your Majesty has come in person, and he must be accompanied by a large army. Those good-for-nothings in Chang'an City only know how to fight among themselves, and they didn't even notice so many people approaching!

Thinking of the rumors about the Fengtian Army, Du Fuji couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

He had no doubt that if the young emperor wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate him, he would have been riddled with arrows by now, and the private soldiers guarding the carriage would be completely useless.

Fortunately, the Fengtian Army was just hiding in the woods and did not take any other actions.

When the carriage finally arrived at the entrance of Xiaogaozhuang Village, Du Fuji's premonition was confirmed.

The scene in the village was relatively peaceful, but wherever one looked, one could see soldiers wearing black armor and dark red robes.

They stood like sculptures on the corners of the house and behind the low walls, with upright postures and sharp eyes.

The moment the carriage drove into the village entrance, countless cold gazes shot towards it.

What made Du Fuji's scalp tingle was that almost every Fengtian Army soldier was holding a cylinder with a metallic luster in his hand.

Musket!

Looking at the slender barrel and complex mechanism, it is far from comparable to the crude muskets of the Daqing Army.

Du Fuji was a man who had seen the world and was well aware that the Fengtian Army's firearms were the best in the world.

Gunpowder originated from Feng State. Although Emperor Qing also vigorously developed firearms and established the Gunpowder Bureau for this purpose, he was completely technologically incomparable to the Feng Army.

Emperor Qing did not seem to care and allowed the Fengtian Army's firearms technology to be far ahead of Daqing.

Now that I think about it, perhaps Emperor Qing had already prepared for today, in order to make it easier for the Fengtian Army to fight back to the imperial capital!

Among the current Imperial Capital Qing Army, it is probably difficult for one out of ten people to have a decent firearm.

And here, everyone is holding such sophisticated firearms!

Du Fuji felt cold sweat on his palms, and his fear of the new king, whom he had never met, reached its peak at this moment.

The carriage finally stopped at the gate of Mr. Gao's house.

Du Fuji took several deep breaths before he could barely suppress the fear in his heart.

When his attendant opened the car door and he stepped out, he found that his legs were a little stiff and out of control.

"Master Du, we're here."

It was Gou Wa who reminded him sleepily, and Du Fuji finally came to his senses, straightened his clothes, and tried to calm himself down.

He quickly calculated in his mind that since His Majesty summoned me in this way instead of dealing with me directly in secret, it at least showed that he had no ill will towards him and the Du family for the time being.

Perhaps His Majesty is aware of his brother's secret operations in the imperial capital. He knows that the Du family is not his enemy, but his ally.

This thought made him feel a little more at ease.

Du Fuji calmed himself down and signaled his followers to wait outside the door.

Then he walked into the Gao family mansion alone, following an expressionless Fengtian Army officer at the door.

The courtyard was also heavily guarded. Soldiers in black armor and red robes replaced the Gao family's guards, and an invisible pressure hung in the air.

As he entered the main hall, Du Fuji immediately saw the young man sitting in the main seat.

He was wearing a fitted black armor with black dragon patterns embossed on it. He was not wearing a helmet, and his black hair was tied up with a simple jade hairpin.

He looked very young, with a handsome face, even a bit boyish, but his eyes were extremely deep and calm, yet contained the majesty of controlling life and death.

He just sat there quietly, without saying or doing anything, but the light in the entire hall was focused on him, making people involuntarily submit.

Du Fuji felt his breath catch. Without any hesitation, he stepped forward and knelt on the ground like a mighty force.

"Your Majesty, I, Du Fuji, pay my respects to you!"

Li Che looked at Du Fuji who was kneeling on the ground, with a faint smile on his face.

He raised his hand and said calmly, "Mr. Du, there is no need for such a grand ceremony. Please stand up quickly."

Li Che was not prepared to show any courtesy to the people from the aristocratic family.

Even a family like the Du family, which has never done anything bad and is known for its kindness, is still a noble family after all, and they receive enough respect on a daily basis.

The existence of aristocratic families is the exploitation of the people, which is a class necessity.

Of course, Li Che would not carry out a bloody purge against aristocratic families like the Du family. Instead, he would use a gentle approach to weaken their power, and then make up for it in other areas.

After Du Fuji stood up with some difficulty and stood respectfully with his hands lowered, Li Che continued, "I know clearly what the Left Prime Minister did in the imperial capital."

"The Du family endured humiliation and remained loyal to the Emperor. They are truly loyal subjects of the country, and I am aware of this."

This one sentence, like a gentle spring breeze, instantly dispelled most of the fear in Du Fuji's heart.

His Majesty really knew! He really knew his brother's painstaking efforts, and knew that the Du family supported the imperial capital on the surface, but in fact they were leaning towards the orthodox position!

This conclusion from a loyal minister is equivalent to giving the Du family a talisman!

Du Fuji suddenly felt relieved, his eyes even warming. He quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please understand! The entire Du family has been deeply blessed by the Emperor. How dare we forget it?"

"Brother, your presence in the imperial capital is a last resort. I long for the royal army to come south and restore order!"

After the excitement, worry immediately came to my mind.

Du Fuji didn't care about etiquette and raised his head anxiously, "Your Majesty is wise and insightful, but Chang'an is now full of bad guys and bad guys, and dangers are everywhere. There are many eyes and ears from all sides."

"Your Majesty, your body is worth millions, why would you venture into such a dangerous place?"

"Besides, the main force of the rebels is lingering east of Chang'an. They have long coveted the Qin and Jin lands and may launch a large-scale invasion at any time."

"Your Majesty, if you go into danger personally, if anything goes wrong, we will die!"

Upon hearing this, Li Che laughed out loud: "I have heard that if you want to take the imperial capital, you must first take Chang'an!"

"Guanzhong is the backbone of the country, the place where the dragon rises. How can I allow these scoundrels to stir up trouble here and destroy our foundation?"

"I have to come this time."