sjar Chapter 765: The King Returns (Part 2)
Chapter 765: The King Returns (Part 2)
Two thousand cavalrymen marched out in a mighty force, ignoring the vigilant gazes along the way, and drove straight to the huge city gate tower of the imperial capital.
The city gate had already been on high alert, with a large number of soldiers standing in formation with spears in hand, and the tense atmosphere was almost tangible.
An officer wearing the armor of an imperial guard general gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, stepped forward, and gave a standard military salute to Li Che and Li Lin on horseback.
The attitude is acceptable and the etiquette is impeccable.
However, his strong Jiangnan accent revealed his origins:
"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness Prince Feng and His Royal Highness Prince Yan! Your Highnesses, please stop."
Li Che reined in his warhorse and looked down at him expressionlessly.
Being locked in the gaze of the renowned General Tian Ce, the general felt as if under immense pressure and broke out in a cold sweat.
But he had military orders, so he still spoke calmly:
"His Majesty has ordered that the princes returning to the capital may not bring their entourages or soldiers into the city. Your Highnesses are requested to enter the palace alone to hear his presence."
Li Lin, who was standing beside Li Che, sneered, "Your Majesty's order? Or the Crown Prince of the East Palace's order?"
The general's face turned pale, then he straightened his back and said solemnly, "Of course it is the order of His Majesty!"
Li Lin's voice turned cold: "How can I trust you? How can you guarantee the safety of me and Prince Feng?!"
The general was well prepared and replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:
"Your Highnesses have returned to the capital to pay homage to the Emperor. As long as you observe the proper etiquette of a minister and do not overstep the bounds of propriety, what danger can there be in this important place, at the feet of the Emperor?"
Li Lin was about to reprimand him, but Li Che raised his hand to stop him.
His gaze fell on the general and he said calmly, "General, I will not be bringing any soldiers with me. Can I bring a few personal followers with me?"
The general's eyes subconsciously swept behind Li Che, and saw Hu Qiang, Qiu Bai, Ying Bu, Qu Jinshan and other brave generals standing in a row, looking majestic and murderous.
Especially the burly man holding a thick iron rod, he looked more like a beast than a human.
His heart suddenly tightened.
The bravery of Fengtian Army generals is known throughout the world.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already issued orders that these evil spirits must not be allowed into the city.
He gritted his teeth and said stubbornly, "Your Highness, His Majesty has issued a strict decree that only Your Highnesses...are allowed to enter alone."
Li Che was silent for a moment, as if to compromise, and spoke again:
"In that case, I will need to bring a clerk with me to record the details of the audience. Is that alright?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Duanxiao on the side immediately stepped forward and looked over indifferently.
He was dressed in a blue shirt, had a thin figure, and his face had the weak and frail look typical of a scholar. He looked weak and powerless, in stark contrast to Hu Qiang and others.
The general took a few looks at Huo Duanxiao and saw that he looked like a standard clerk and posed no threat at all.
He thought that he had just rejected King Feng's two requests in a row. If he refused again, he would probably turn against him immediately.
Anyway, the order he received was to immediately control and "protect" the prince as soon as he entered the city gate. One more weak scholar would not cause any trouble.
He weighed the pros and cons briefly, then bowed and said, "Your Highness has considered everything, and this request is reasonable."
Li Che's mouth twitched slightly, and he turned over and dismounted.
Li Lin snorted coldly and dismounted, standing behind Li Che with Huo Duanxiao on his left and right.
Li Che glanced at Qiu Bai and the others behind him, who all had worried expressions on their faces, and instructed, "Stay here and wait for me to come out."
Qiu Bai and the others understood and bowed deeply in silence.
Two thousand cavalrymen stood silently, staring at the direction of the city gate with sharp eyes.
Seeing that Li Che finally cooperated, the gatekeeper felt relieved and urged:
"Your Highness, please."
Li Che did not take a step immediately, but smiled and said: "Don't worry, General, there is still one thing that has not been taken."
The general was slightly stunned, with a look of confusion on his face.
A Fengtian Army cavalryman quickly stepped forward and respectfully handed a long object wrapped tightly in black cloth to Li Che.
Seeing the shape and length, the general subconsciously thought it was some kind of strange long weapon, and suddenly became alert and said:
"Your Highness, you can carry your sword and bow, but such a long weapon..."
The bravery of Prince Feng and Prince Yan was the best among all the princes. Although the general felt that a prince would not be that strong even if he had a reputation for bravery, he was still somewhat cautious in his heart.
I just don't know, the space in the city is small and it is impossible to fight on horseback, so what's the point of carrying such a long weapon?
Li Che held the long pole with one hand and said with a slight smile:
"General, you worry too much. This is not a weapon, but a gift from me to my father as a token of filial piety."
Hearing that it was a gift to the emperor, the general could not stop it by force.
He had to suppress the uneasiness in his heart and turned sideways again: "Your Highness, please."
Li Che's face was calm. Holding the long cloth pole in one hand, he walked slowly towards the city gate that was as deep as the mouth of a giant beast under the protection of Li Lin and Huo Duanxiao.
The gate of the imperial capital is tall and deep, and the light inside the cave is dim.
As soon as he stepped into the shadows, Li Che heard heavy breathing sounds coming from the darkness, as well as the slight friction of metal armor plates.
He seemed unaware and continued forward with steady steps.
With every step he took, the rustling footsteps around him became more frequent.
In the shadows on both sides, countless figures wearing iron armor and holding swords and shields could be vaguely seen slowly approaching, forming an increasingly tight encirclement.
Li Lin and Huo Duanxiao naturally noticed it as well, and both of them put their hands on the hilts of their swords, alarm bells ringing in their hearts.
Only Li Che seemed to really not care, striding towards the city gate exit.
When the three finally walked out of the long doorway, the scene before them had changed drastically.
The streets in the distance were still bustling with people, but a large area near the city gate was cleared.
There were dense crowds of people around, all of them were soldiers wearing helmets and armor, with swords drawn and bows strung.
The cold weapon reflected a chilling light as it was aimed at the three people in the circle. The air was filled with murderous intent that was about to break out.
Seeing that the plan was going smoothly, the goalkeeper finally felt relieved.
The pretended respect on his face disappeared instantly, he strode forward and said in a tough tone:
"Your Highnesses, to ensure safety, please remove your weapons and allow me to search you!"
Li Lin became furious upon hearing this and was about to draw his sword with his hand on the hilt.
Li Che seemed not to hear anything, but calmly placed the end of the long pole in his hand on the ground, and then slowly began to untie the black cloth wrapped around it.
The general frowned and raised his voice: "Your Highness, please cooperate!"
At this moment, Li Che tore off the last piece of cloth!
scoff-
Amid the sound of cloth tearing, a huge bright red flag suddenly unfolded, fluttering in the wind!
The general subconsciously looked up, and his pupils suddenly shrank to the size of a needle tip.
A huge flag flutters proudly at the top of the black flagpole.
In the center of the flag, a huge word "冯" written with powerful and domineering strokes is like a burning flame, extremely dazzling!
That is... the royal flag of Feng State, to which the fighting spirit of millions of Feng Army soldiers is attached!
Li Che slammed the big flag down at his side, and the flag fluttered, making a rustling sound.
He ignored the countless swords and guns pointed at him and looked into the distance. Although the people were stopped by the soldiers, they still tried to look towards the city gate.
The next second, Li Che took a deep breath and spoke, his voice like a bell, shaking the entire city gate area:
“This king——”
"The Sixth Prince of Daqing!"
"General Tiance!"
"Feng Wang Li Che!"
"Now, by order of the emperor, I am returning to the capital to serve you!"
"Who dares to stop me?!"
This roar was like thunder out of nowhere, instantly drowning out all the noise.
The people watching from afar were silent at first, but then they saw the royal flag with the word "Feng" on it and suddenly broke into a huge uproar!
Looking at the goalkeeper, he was already sweating profusely and his vision was dark.