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

Marshal is not an official title and this official position has never existed in any dynasty.

However, those who can be called "Grand Marshal" have a very high status, which is usually a title given to themselves by local powerful factions.

Only those who transcend the official position of the imperial court and become the overlord of a region can be called the general.

Zhuge Zhe suddenly opened his tired eyes and looked at Jie Ming with some suspicion: "The Marshal you are talking about, could it be... Yang Zhongsi?"

Jie Ming said proudly, "It's Yang Shuai."

Li Che looked at Zhuge Zhe with a confused look on his face.

Yang Zhongsi, this name is very unfamiliar, and I couldn’t find it even after searching through my original body’s memories.

But the surname "Yang" is very special, it was the surname of the previous dynasty.

As expected, Zhuge Zhe then heard him say, "Yang Zhongsi is a member of the previous royal family. If we talk about seniority, Your Highness should call him uncle."

Li Che was surprised when he heard this.

The original body's mother was the sister of Emperor Yang, who destroyed the country. So, Yang Zhongsi was actually Emperor Yang's brother?

"That's not right. His Majesty has almost killed all the members of the Yang family, and the rest are under house arrest in the imperial capital." Li Che asked doubtfully, "I've never heard of Emperor Yang's brothers wandering around outside?"

Zhuge Zhe nodded. "That's true, but Yang Zhongsi is different. He's a figure that shouldn't be mentioned in Daqing and outside the Great Wall. It's normal that Your Highness doesn't know his name."

Li Che saw Zhuge Zhe with a look of admiration on his face, and seemed to have great respect for the Marshal.

Judging from Zhuge Zhe's character, the person he admired should also be a loyal and brave person.

If that’s the case, why can’t it be mentioned?

Zhuge Zhe spoke in detail, as if he knew all the details:

"He is the adopted son of the previous Emperor Wen, and the sworn brother of Emperor Yang.

His biological father was General Wei Huan of the previous dynasty, who was a close minister of Emperor Wen and a general of the Huan Dynasty.

In the tenth year of Kaihuang, the Northern Hu invaded. Wei Huan was the vanguard and entered the enemy camp. He was hit by dozens of arrows but fought to the death. In the end, he was outnumbered and died in battle.

Emperor Wen of the previous dynasty took pity on his bravery, so he took his son into the palace and raised him as his own son, changed his surname to the imperial one, and gave him the name Zhongsi.

Yang Zhongsi and Emperor Yang grew up together, were playmates, and were as close as brothers.

After Emperor Yangdi ascended the throne, he appointed him as Protector-General of the Western Regions and stationed troops in the Anxi Protectorate.

Because of his bravery in battle and his outstanding military achievements, he soon became famous in the Western Regions.

When Your Majesty destroyed the Huan Dynasty, he wanted to return to the court to provide assistance. However, the countries in the Western Regions took advantage of the Huan Dynasty's weakness and invaded the Anxi Protectorate under the leadership of Tuyuhun.

Yang Zhongsi could only fight hard. Although he inflicted heavy damage on the armies of the Western Regions countries, he was ultimately outnumbered due to lack of food and fodder, so he had to withdraw his troops.

At this time, Your Majesty's army had already invaded the imperial capital and the Huan Dynasty was destroyed.

Yang Zhongsi was filled with grief and anger, and wanted to fight to the death with His Majesty. His deputy general begged him to stop, threatening the lives of the entire army, and he had no choice but to give up.

When he heard that Your Majesty had moved the powerful and noble families of the Huan Dynasty out of the border, he decided to go there.

He took a detour through the Hu people's territory. Many Hu tribes were afraid of his reputation and no one dared to stop him. He eventually arrived in Ninggu County successfully.

When Li Che heard about this man's life, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality.

As a descendant of a loyal and righteous man, he fought throughout his life, from the westernmost part of Daqing to the northernmost part.

With such a strong record, and all of them were fought against foreign races, it is enough to be included in the Temple of Martial Arts. How could he be unknown?

Zhuge Zhe seemed to have noticed Li Che's thoughts and said:

“The reason why Your Highness has never heard of him is because His Majesty has sent people with the title of Grand General many times to persuade him to surrender.

However, General Yang refused all of them and said that he, Yang Zhongsi, was a general of the Huan Dynasty and would never surrender to Daqing.

Your Majesty was furious, but at that time the new dynasty had just been established, the country was in ruins, and the area outside the Great Wall had just stabilized.

Your Majesty does not want to send troops for this purpose, which would cause panic among the tribes and instability on the border.

The reason why Ninggu County is not well-known is that after General Yang arrived here, he discovered the dealings between the aristocratic families and the barbarians and became furious.

General Yang tried to persuade them many times with kind words, but the people from other families had long been blinded by greed and naturally ignored him.

General Yang was both loyal and brave. He could not bear to fight with his former colleagues, so he took some soldiers and left Ninggu County.

From then on, the noble families held a grudge against Yang Zhongsi, and naturally no one mentioned him again.

Zhuge Zhe took a deep breath and looked at Jie Ming, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs with his back straight and a look of pride and joy.

"After General Yang left Ninggu County, he founded the Huanguo Army, proclaimed himself the Grand Marshal, and led his soldiers to fight across the White Mountains and Black Waters."

"I heard that he marched north and defeated the Khitan king's tribe. After that, I never heard from him again."

After hearing about Yang Zhongsi's deeds, everyone admired him, but because he was a staunch anti-Qing person, they all turned their attention to Li Che.

Li Che's expression remained unchanged, he just looked at Jie Ming in silence.

After a while, he said, "What is your relationship with Yang Zhongsi?"

Li Che did not use any honorifics when addressing General Yang, nor did he use the term "Marshal".

Jie Ming's face suddenly turned grim, and he reluctantly bowed and said, "I am Jie Ming, a lieutenant under the command of the commander-in-chief."

Li Che nodded: "Where are Yang Zhongsi's troops now?"

Seeing Li Che repeatedly addressing his commander-in-chief by his name, Jie Ming was immediately displeased and asked, "Your Highness, why are you being disrespectful to my commander-in-chief by addressing him by his name?!"

Li Che looked at him with a half-smile, squinting his eyes:

"You have to understand clearly that I am the prince of Daqing, and Yang Zhongsi is a general of the previous dynasty."

"Anyone who has not pledged allegiance to Daqing is an enemy or a rebel. Why should I respect him?"

Li Che's voice rose, shocking Jie Ming so much that he trembled and his mind became clear.

Yes, at least in name, the Marshal and the Prince of Ninggu are still enemies and belong to different camps.

Jie Ming immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He still needed help from others and couldn't make the relationship too awkward.

So he said, "Last year, the Marshal led his army eastward and has now captured Liaodong County. He is stationed in Andong City, eight hundred miles away from here."

Li Che laughed when he heard this.

Liaodong County and Andong City are Dandong in later generations.

In other words, Yang Zhongsi's isolated army had already reached the territory of Goryeo.

Is Goryeo so easy to defeat?

Emperor Yang of the previous dynasty launched three expeditions to Goguryeo, but each time he returned in defeat.

Emperor Qing was a military emperor who also wanted to conquer Goryeo, but he never dared to make a decision.

Although Yang Zhongsi is capable, Li Che does not think he is better than his cheap father.

What's more, his men were completely isolated and had no backup or supplies. It was difficult for them to survive in the icy and snowy area of ​​Liaodong.

Li Che looked at Jie Ming, and the latter's evasive gaze made him more certain of his guess.

"Tell me, what happened to Yang Zhongsi that made you come to me for help." Li Che said lightly.

Jie Ming's face turned pale, and then he looked at Li Che in disbelief.

How is that possible? How did he know?

He gritted his teeth, knelt on the ground, and shouted, "Your Highness, please show mercy and send troops to help save the Marshal's life!"