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

Chapter 985 The End of the Aristocratic Families

The debate inside the government office continued.

Surprisingly, the Zheng family patriarch was not angered by the rebuttal. He simply sat back down in his chair, like a walking corpse.

The trembling head of the Cui family, who had been silent all along, raised his cloudy old eyes and tentatively said, "How about...we...we surrender?"

The head of the Wang family, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, turned his head and sneered, "Surrender? Old man Cui, are you senile? Who is Li Che? Do you think he would let us go? Dream on!"

The head of the Cui family trembled as he was roared at, and his last hope was shattered.

Completely devastated, she clutched her graying hair, her voice shrill, "I can't escape! I can't surrender! What should I do... what should I do! Now, I can't even stay in this city anymore..."

The other head of the family, huddled in a chair, instinctively covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve upon hearing this, as if something was lurking in the air.

Just when all hope seemed lost, the gates of the government office were smashed open.

Prefect Cui Li of Qiongzhou rushed in, his official hat askew and his face ashen: "My lords! What are you still doing here? The Qing army has attacked and is already at the city walls!"

This Prefect Cui was a casual pawn in the scheme laid out by the aristocratic family years ago.

He was a member of the Cui family and had committed a serious crime in the capital, for which he should have been executed.

It was Cui Jiajia who, against all odds, used his connections to change his death sentence to exile in Qiongzhou, and managed to make him the prefect of this remote place.

At that time, powerful families were at the height of their influence, and even Emperor Qing had to compromise with them.

What was originally a hidden weapon that might not have been used in one move unexpectedly became their last resort at the last moment.

Upon hearing this, the seven family heads were struck dumb.

Ignoring the dangers within the city, they stumbled and rushed out of the government office.

The sight outside the city instantly froze their blood.

A fiery dragon made up of countless torches stretched as far as the eye could see, extending along the official road to the dark horizon, illuminating the area in front of the city wall as bright as day.

In the firelight, there were countless Qing army soldiers, their armor gleaming coldly in the firelight.

The leading general, exceptionally tall and imposing, rode a powerful warhorse, displaying his might and swagger.

His face appeared particularly ferocious in the flickering torchlight, a deep scar running diagonally across his cheek, adding to his menacing look.

The general's personal guards, all clad in light lamellar armor, had sharp eyes and were shrouded in a murderous aura.

Everyone gasped in shock; this General Qing was... far too ugly.

What terrified the family heads the most was that the soldiers of this army were all armed with muskets.

Looking around, there wasn't a single sword or spear in sight!

On a small hill not far from the city, a dozen cannons had been set up, their dark muzzles like the pupils of a giant beast, locked onto the city wall.

This is actually an elite force that is fully equipped with firearms!

The Southern Army suffered greatly when it encountered the Qing Army on the southern battlefield, which was also equipped with a large number of cold weapons!

With all its soldiers armed with firearms, how could this Qing army possibly fight?

As the Zheng family patriarch looked at the imposing Qing army formation below the city, a bitter feeling welled up from the depths of his throat, and his vision blurred.

It's over, it's over.

Of course, he never considered resisting.

The city of Qiongzhou today is filled only with remnants of defeated soldiers who fled from the mainland, along with the local Qiongzhou troops; it is essentially a rabble.

After suffering a crushing defeat on the main battlefield and another crushing defeat in Lingnan, do you think hiding on this isolated island overseas will turn the tide?

He was just running away, fleeing from the north to the south, from Jiangnan to Lingnan, and then from Lingnan to Qiongzhou Island.

What they were fleeing was not the Qing army's military might, but the cruel reality that aristocratic families were being abandoned by the times.

Just then, the scarred-faced general below the city spurred his horse and reined it in just an arrow's throw from the city gate.

But then he opened his eyes wide, gathered his strength, and shouted, "Hey! Those on the city wall..."

Before he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!

On the city wall, a dark figure plummeted down like a puppet with its strings cut!

Wang Sanchun reacted extremely quickly, thinking that it was a cold arrow being fired from the city wall or some rolling logs or stones being thrown down. He was so frightened that he instinctively turned his horse around to avoid it.

"boom--"

The dull, loud thud was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Wang Sanchun stared intently and couldn't help but gasp.

What fell was not a weapon, but an old man dressed in brocade robes.

He fell headfirst, and is now lying paralyzed on the ground.

His head shattered like a ripe watermelon, splattering red and white matter all over the ground. His limbs were twisted at bizarre angles, clearly indicating that he had died instantly.

On the city wall, the remaining six family heads stared in disbelief at this scene.

The position of head of the Zheng family is now vacant.

The Zheng family may not be the strongest of the seven families, but the head of the Zheng family is the most senior and has the greatest prestige. He has been their backbone for many years.

At this moment, with their leader taking his own life in such a tragic way, the remaining six felt dizzy and utterly terrified, and their last bit of support collapsed.

The head of the Cui family closed his eyes in anguish, and two streams of murky tears slid down his wrinkles.

He looked up to the sky and cried out in anguish, "A thousand-year-old family! Generations of officials! Yet we have come to an end here, perishing in this barbaric land overseas!"

"Ancestors, your unworthy descendant has no face to meet you again!"

Before he finished speaking, he charged forward and plunged headfirst off the city wall.

puff-

Another chilling thud echoed, and another pool of blood and gore appeared beneath the city walls.

Wang Sanchun, who was watching from below the city, had a clear view of the situation and his brows were furrowed.

But before he could think any further, a chilling scene unfolded.

As if infected, or as if their minds were completely broken, the remaining family heads also jumped off the city wall one after another, like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.

"boom!"

"Pfft!"

"Crack!"

The dull thuds of flesh hitting the ground were incessant, and patches of dark red condensation formed on the ground.

The heads of the powerful families knew that although jumping off the city wall to die was a pathetic act, it would also bring them instant relief.

This is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than falling into Li Che's hands.

In the blink of an eye, only the head of the Wang family remained on the city wall. His face was ashen, and his hands clung tightly to the cold battlements.

Looking down at the six mangled corpses, the head of the Wang family wanted to follow suit, but his legs felt like lead, and he couldn't take that last step.

There is great terror in life and death.

Wang Sanchun finally understood that these old men who jumped into the city were most likely the heads of those powerful families.

Seeing that the old men were about to die, he became extremely anxious and hurriedly ordered, "Quickly! Attack the city! Damn it... at least leave one of them alive!"