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

Wang Sanchun took the lead, and perhaps because he gained confidence from fighting in Japan, his martial arts skills actually improved to a higher level.

He swung his long sword with all his might, and the warhorse under him neighed and galloped wildly. There was no general in the rebel army who could match him!

The personal soldiers led by Wang Sanchun were like sharp knives, stabbing fiercely into the fleeing enemy group and hacking and killing the fleeing soldiers, making them scream in pain.

The battle turned into a one-sided massacre.

The setting sun was as red as blood, illuminating this even bloodier battlefield.

Zhai Yan's 100,000-strong army collapsed in just a few hours, leaving only defeated soldiers and countless dead bodies all over the mountains.

The 100,000-strong army threw away their weapons and armor, and Zhai Yan himself fled in a panic, with Wang Sanchun and Li Leshi chasing him relentlessly from behind.

Both generals were able to defeat hundreds of enemies, and even when the Fengtian Army was already half equipped with firearms, they did not neglect their martial arts.

In the end, it was only because two of Zhai Yan's trusted generals stayed behind to protect him at the risk of their lives that he barely escaped.

At this time, the 100,000-strong army under his command had already been shattered. It was impossible for those captured young men to fight to the death, and even most of the elite troops brought from the Southern Army were lost.

In the end, Zhai Yan only gathered 3,000 remnants and went to Zheng Mao in a miserable state.

Wang Sanchun and Li Leshi chased for a distance, then led their troops back to reunite with Xue Zhen, and then happily went to write a battle report to Li Che to report their achievements.

. . . . . .

Having read this, I have finished reading the battle report.

Li Che grinned and handed the battle report to Qiu Bai beside him: "Let everyone take a look."

Qiu Bai passed the battle report on and everyone circulated it around to read.

Li Che continued, "The rebels still don't understand the importance of intelligence. We've been underestimated. Wang Sanchun may look like a reckless man who only knows how to swing a knife, but he can keep his composure in critical moments."

"Zhai Yan wanted to provoke him, but was defeated with a beautiful defensive counterattack. The old king did not embarrass me."

Yue Yun quickly scanned the military report, a look of approval crossing his stern face. "Zhai Yan underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. General Wang used a strategy of calm to counteract the enemy's attack, evading their sharp edge, wearing down their spirit, and then attacking them when they collapsed. This was indeed a prudent and prudent strategy."

After reading it, Du Fuji and Prince Huai'an were even more shocked.

Although they knew that the Fengtian Army was capable of fighting, they did not expect that they could achieve such a resounding victory despite being at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength, and almost completely wiped out Zhai Yan's troops.

This gave them a deeper understanding of the generals under Li Che, and at the same time they sneered at Zhai Yan's short-sightedness in their hearts.

There is no false reputation under a great name. Your Majesty has entrusted tens of thousands of troops to him. How could he be a reckless man?

"Although General Wang has temporarily defeated the enemy, Zheng Mao's 70,000-man army still holds the southern bank of the Ji River, and their strength remains intact."

"The Pseudo-Dynasty will continue to send troops. The battle in Yanzhou is not over yet." Li Che stood up and walked in front of the crowd. "We can't let Wang Sanchun, Chen Pingzhi and the others fight alone."

"Propagate my decree: All departments must expedite their actions. The situation in Chang'an must be stabilized within ten days."

"Then the army marched eastward out of Tongguan, joining forces with the left and right armies to attack from the front and back, completely wiping out the enemy in Yanzhou and marching straight towards the imperial capital!"

Everyone responded in unison: "We obey your orders!"

In the next ten days, Li Che used an iron-fisted approach to carry out a thorough overhaul of Chang'an City.

The first blow was aimed at the aristocratic family!

A temporary execution platform was built at the once bustling intersection of Zhuque Street.

Dozens of core members of the Wei, Wang, Cui, Liu and other families, led by Wei Hong, were tied up and made to kneel on the stage.

Half the city's inhabitants were summoned to witness the execution.

Public trials are an old tradition in Fengguo.

As for the evidence of the aristocratic family's crimes, there was no need to bother looking for it. Their servants and retainers voluntarily confessed a lot in order to save their lives.

An official with a loud voice read out their numerous crimes in public:

They colluded with the false emperor, controlled the local areas, oppressed the people, embezzled land, set up private torture chambers, and even had countless secret murder cases...

Every time a line was read out, there was an exclamation from the crowd of people watching below the stage.

The people live in poverty, but most of them don’t know who caused their poverty.

Most of the aristocratic families were quite covert when they exploited the people, and even gave the illusion of being generous and loving the people on the surface.

What Li Che did was to show the people everything they had done.

These charges are not fictitious, they are all the results of verification by the night watchmen, and even most of the victims involved are among the crowd.

When the people's anger reached its peak, Li Che issued an order for immediate execution.

The cold light of the ghost-head knife flashed, and blood splattered on the execution ground!

The high-ranking heads of aristocratic families became domestic pigs during the New Year, and their heads were chopped off in batches.

After a brief silence, the onlookers burst into cheers.

While the accumulated resentment was being relieved, awe of the new dynasty's drastic measures also arose in his heart.

Li Che used this most direct way to announce the end of the old era.

And from this moment on, Chang'an City will follow his rules.

Of course, killing people can only establish authority, but cannot maintain long-term rule.

After dealing with the aristocratic families, Li Che ordered the opening of the confiscated aristocratic family granaries and some government granaries.

At the same time, porridge stalls were set up and rice was distributed to each household, with priority given to poor families in the city and those who had suffered losses in the war.

Chang'an has been in civil strife for some time. The previous prefect was completely inactive and had been stripped of his official position by Li Che.

Chang'an City was in such chaos, but he was able to please everyone and offend no one. If he had not been sent by Emperor Qing, Li Che would have wanted to kill this guy with a knife.

At the same time, Li Che recruited young and strong people to work in exchange for relief, and participated in tasks such as cleaning streets, repairing city defenses, burying corpses, and distributing money and food every day.

This move quickly stabilized the morale of the grassroots people and gradually brought Chang'an back on track from the post-war depression.

However, Li Che did not carry out more radical reforms. Fengguo's advanced policies were not implemented, and Chang'an was still managed according to the old methods for the time being.

There is no way. The world is still unstable, so we should focus on maintaining stability and not make any random moves.

The former defenders of Chang'an and the surrendered private soldiers of the aristocratic families were gathered together and strictly screened.

Those who are old, weak, sick and disabled will all be given travel expenses to return home.

Some of the soldiers, repeat offenders, and those with any suspicious backgrounds were directly sent to labor camps.

Only some of those with clean backgrounds and strong physiques were retained and incorporated into the new army for transformation.

At the same time, Li Che posted a notice to recruit a large number of young men from good families in Guanzhong to join the army, promising them generous military pay.

Children from good families have always been the best source of soldiers. Although the Fengtian Army was originally an army of criminals, that was the only solution.

At that time, Li Che really couldn't recruit suitable people, so he selected soldiers from the criminal camp.

This resulted in the Fengtian Army having strong combat effectiveness, but discipline was always a problem. No one was obedient except Li Che, and it took several years to eliminate this drawback.

In the future, the Daqing army will only need the Fengtian Army as a thorn in its side. The rest of the army should still be mainly composed of men from good families. Discipline is far more important than individual combat effectiveness.

What Li Che wanted was a pure, reliable and powerful new Qin army to serve as the backbone of the Eastern Expedition.

The Chang'an government office and its subordinate officials at all levels also underwent a major reshuffle.

Officials who were stubbornly dependent on aristocratic families, corrupt and incompetent, or simply fence-sitters were all dismissed.

Li Che ordered that Du Fuji take the lead in selecting a group of capable and motivated young people from the poor students and minor officials who surrendered to serve as officials at all levels and quickly take over all aspects of urban management.

Unfortunately, there were too few such students from poor families, and Daqing did not yet have an imperial examination system, so books were still monopolized by aristocratic families.

Families like Mr. Gao's were considered poor, and ordinary people didn't even have the possibility of accessing books.

However, it is enough to maintain stability temporarily. Li Che has ordered the transfer of some graduates from Fengguo University.

In just ten days, Chang'an City seemed to have been reborn.

Although the scars of war still remain, order has been restored and people's hearts have begun to turn.

On the morning of the eleventh day, the sun was rising.

Li Che decided to leave the Prince of Huai'an in charge of the military affairs of Chang'an, responsible for continuing to reorganize the new army and maintain defense.

Du Fuji was in charge of government affairs, pacifying the local people and raising food and fodder.

He also left behind a lieutenant general and two thousand elite Fengtian troops to assist them and defend the city of Chang'an.

The army gathered outside the east gate, with black armor and red flags, swords and spears like a forest, and a murderous aura reaching the sky.

Li Che, dressed in military uniform, sat on a black wind chair and walked out of the city gate surrounded by black-armored guards.

Du Fuji, the civil and military officials who stayed behind led by Prince Huaian, as well as Li Xuan, Li Ji, Gou Wa and Gao Yuanwai who had hurried over after hearing the news, saw them off on the street.

Li Che turned around, looked at everyone, and said with a gentle smile: "Everyone, please go back. I'll leave Chang'an City to you."

"Your Majesty, take care!" Du Fuji and others bowed.

"Sixth Uncle... come back from the war soon..." Li Xuan held his brother's hand, his eyes slightly red.

Gou Wa beside him waved his hands vigorously and shouted: "Your Majesty! I'll wait for you in Chang'an!"

Mr. Gao even knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face with excitement.

He was able to rise to fame overnight. Li Che arranged a position for him in the government office, and he became an official.

Although his position was not high, thanks to his close relationship with Li Che, he would have a smooth career in the officialdom of Chang'an and no one would cause trouble for him.

Li Che looked around at everyone, his gaze lingered on the two children for a moment, he nodded, and finally looked towards the east.

Just as he was about to wave his hand and order the army to march, a rider on a fast horse came galloping from the end of the official road like a whirlwind.

The knight on horseback was covered in dust, with a small red flag on his back.

"Report——"

"Yanzhou urgent military report!"

The knight rushed forward, fell off his horse, knelt on one knee, and held up a wax-covered military bulletin in his hands:

"Your Majesty! Urgent military report from Yanzhou!"

Everyone's heart was instantly tightened!

I just received a report of a great victory, and now another urgent letter arrives from eight hundred miles away?

Could it be...

Li Che frowned slightly and motioned Qiu Bai to take the military newspaper.

He opened the sealing wax with his own hands, quickly unfolded the letter, and read it at a glance.

Li Che's brows gradually relaxed, and his face showed more joy.

"Good! What a great white-robed ghost general!"

"Hahaha! This guy Chen Pingzhi really gave me a surprise!"