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The news reached Asuka Kyoto.

The once solemn and majestic palaces and pavilions are now filled with the desolation of impending doom.

Empress Suiko, Prince Shotoku, the powerful Soga no Umako, and all the nobles gathered at the court understood that they had lost all leverage for negotiation or resistance.

A few days later, the Heavenly Alliance army arrived outside Fei Niao Jing and sealed off all exits of the capital and its surrounding area.

A dark military formation unfolded outside the city, its banners gleaming, its swords and spears forming a forest, silently exuding a suffocating sense of oppression. The defending troops inside the city had long since lost their morale and were utterly devoid of fighting spirit.

Under the overwhelming threat of force, the Japanese court lost even the last shred of courage to resist. Empress Suiko, persuaded by Soga no Umako and others, ultimately chose to surrender.

The city gates opened, and the Japanese high-ranking officials, led by Prince Shotoku and Soga no Umako, dressed in formal court attire symbolizing the highest rank, carrying replicas of the Three Sacred Treasures symbolizing imperial power and household registers, walked out of the city gates and knelt down in the direction of the central banner of the Heavenly Alliance, performing the most solemn ceremony of submission.

Surrounded by elite guards, Shan Meixian and Shan Wanjing accepted the surrender of the Japanese court. The entire process was devoid of conflict; only a deathly silence and a profound sense of humiliation permeated the air outside Asuka-kyo.

However, surrender does not mean forgiveness.

After gaining complete control of Asuka-kyo and its surrounding areas, disarming all remaining forces, and placing all core members of the Japanese imperial family, the Soga clan, and other major powerful clans under house arrest, Shan Meixian, in the name of the Commander-in-Chief of the Expedition, issued a final ruling drafted directly by the Xiangyang Alliance Commander's Office and delivered across the sea by carrier pigeon.

The Heavenly Alliance did not follow the usual practice in the Central Plains of treating surrendered forces—to bestow titles, grant them tributary status, and retain some of their power and position. Regarding Japan, Yi Huawei issued a completely different order: eradicate them.

The reason was straightforward and forceful: "This tiny, insignificant state, instead of yearning for civilization, harbors ambitions to seize the throne, secretly plots rebellion, and plots to seize the imperial power. Their actions deserve punishment, and their hearts should be destroyed!"

A makeshift trial platform was erected in the square in front of the Asuka-kyō Imperial Palace. Shan Meixian and Shan Wanjing presided over the proceedings, while the charges were read aloud by the accompanying civil officials and scribes, and translated loudly by those fluent in Japanese, ensuring that all the lower and middle-ranking Japanese officials, monks, and some representatives of powerful families who were forced to witness the proceedings could hear clearly.

The trial lasted for several days.

Empress Suiko was accused of "indulging her subordinates, harboring treacherous intentions, and failing to behave properly as a vassal," and was stripped of her imperial title and reduced to a commoner.

Prince Shotoku was accused of "arbitrarily changing the system and overstepping the bounds of propriety. His reforms often imitated the imperial court but were contrary to its principles, and he harbored malicious intentions," and was identified as one of the culprits.

Soga no Umako and his core clan were accused of "controlling the government, being domineering and autocratic, repeatedly sending envoys to spy on the secrets of the Central Plains, transferring benefits, and having ulterior motives."

All 377 people who held important positions in the Japanese court, were involved in previous activities such as "sending envoys to Sui China" or "spying in the interior," or bore primary responsibility in the war against the Heavenly Alliance, were sentenced one by one.

The verdict was: immediate execution, extermination of three generations of the family.

There was no exile, no imprisonment, only the most thorough physical annihilation and the complete uprooting of his family's power.

On the day of the execution, an open area outside Asuka-kyo became a massive execution ground. Hundreds of once high-ranking Japanese nobles were forced to kneel with their hands tied behind their backs. Dressed in tattered prison clothes, their expressions were numb; some wept bitterly, some muttered to themselves, and some stared blankly, having long lost their former dignity.

With Shan Meixian's command, the ghost-headed blade swung down again and again, heads rolled, and blood stained the earth red.

Empress Suiko (the deposed empress), Prince Shotoku, and others were escorted separately to a cliff by the sea. Following Yi Huawei's special instructions, they were placed in cages and sunk into the turbulent sea in what was called "sea burial," symbolizing their ambition and sins, condemning them to eternal damnation.

This unprecedented purge was not merely for revenge, but also to destroy Japan's old ruling structure and potential core of resistance at its root. As a result, Japan's centuries-old aristocratic political system was completely shattered, and almost all influential figures in the upper echelons were swept away.

While carrying out the bloody political purge, the Heavenly Dao Alliance also rapidly and comprehensively launched its plan to transform and utilize Yingzhou. Its core objective was to build this newly conquered land into a massive logistical base and resource treasure trove for the Heavenly Dao Alliance's future struggle for world domination.

Shan Meixian was officially appointed as the "Governor of Yingzhou," wielding supreme military and political power over Yingzhou. Shan Wanjing served as her deputy, responsible for military suppression, control, and local security.

The Heavenly Alliance did not conduct large-scale immigration to Yingzhou, but instead adopted a strategy of "using barbarians to control barbarians, with key areas under control." They completely abolished the original Japanese system of local powerful clans such as "Kokuzō" and "Kyū," dividing the entire Yingzhou into several "counties" directly under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General's Office. These counties were managed by officials (mostly military civil servants or low-ranking officials transferred from the Central Plains) directly dispatched by the Heavenly Alliance. The primary task of these county magistrates was to register households, establish a baojia system (a system of mutual responsibility among households), and extend their control to every village.

The government forcibly promoted Chinese as the official language and script, requiring all official documents, laws, and educational materials to be written in Chinese. It established "Education Institutes" to recruit willing Japanese monks (Buddhism already had a considerable foundation in Japan at this time) and literate naturalized Japanese citizens, teaching them abridged and modified versions of Confucian classics and the ideology of loyalty to the Heavenly Way Alliance, which they then disseminated to the lower classes.

In addition, talented individuals who are proficient in Chinese, familiar with laws and regulations, and have certain mathematical abilities are selected from the naturalized Japanese and appointed as grassroots officials. They are given treatment and status far exceeding that of ordinary Japanese, thereby dividing and disintegrating potential resistance and establishing a new interest class dependent on the rule of the Heavenly Way Alliance.

The full-scale development of the gold and silver mine was one of the key reasons why Yi Huawei was determined to take over Yingzhou.

The Dongming faction had been secretly exploring and mining gold and silver mines in Japan for many years and was very familiar with the rich reserves of precious metals in the area. Now, these mines have come out into the open.

With a single decree, Shan Meixian forcibly conscripted young and able-bodied laborers from Japan to form “mining battalions”, which were managed by the Tiandao Alliance’s engineers and supervisors. These battalions were then deployed to various known gold and silver mines (such as the Sado Gold Mine and the Iwami Silver Mine, which, although not yet at their later peak, already had considerable reserves exposed or were being mined on a small scale).

Based on the ideas provided by Yi Huawei, Lu Miaozi improved the mining, drainage, and smelting techniques. Although not yet at a modern level, the efficiency was greatly improved compared to the original methods. Water and animal power were used extensively for ore crushing and drainage, and centralized smelting workshops were established.

The mining area was under military management, with strict checks at the gates to prevent the loss of gold and silver. The mined ore was initially smelted on-site and cast into standardized gold and silver ingots. These ingots were then heavily guarded and continuously transported to coastal ports, from where they were shipped back to Xiangyang by fleet. These precious metals would serve as a guarantee for the Heavenly Alliance's future massive military expenditures, official salaries, engineering construction, and currency issuance.

For the subsequent immigration plan, under Yi Huawei's instructions, advanced agricultural tools and technologies from the Central Plains, such as curved plows and irrigation waterwheels, were introduced to Japan. The reclamation of wasteland was encouraged (and in some areas it was mandatory) to plant crops such as rice and hemp. The goal was to achieve basic self-sufficiency in food in Japan and to provide some supplies to the front lines or the mainland.

In addition, the Heavenly Alliance also exercised official monopoly or strict control over Japan's handicraft industries such as iron smelting, salt production, and shipbuilding, especially the shipbuilding industry.

All shipyards and craftsmen of a certain size were brought together and, under the supervision of the Heavenly Path Alliance, built and maintained ships for the fleet, or converted merchant ships for transport. Several ports with excellent conditions, such as Hakata Bay and Naniwazu, were expanded and fortified, with permanent wharves, warehouses, barracks, and fortifications constructed, making them forward bases for the Heavenly Path Alliance navy in the East China Sea and transit points for cross-sea transport. A certain number of naval vessels and army troops were permanently stationed in these ports to ensure absolute military control over Yingzhou and the security of sea routes.

After completing this series of actions, Shan Meixian retained 20,000 of the 30,000 expeditionary troops permanently stationed in Yingzhou, dividing them into several garrison districts to guard key cities, ports, and mining areas. Regular sweeping patrols were conducted to eliminate any remaining enemy forces or bandits hiding in the mountains and forests, ensuring local stability. Simultaneously, able-bodied men were selected from the surrendered Japanese to form the "Assistant Army," commanded by officers of the Heavenly Dao Alliance at the mid-to-high level. This army was responsible for secondary tasks such as assisting in garrison defense and maintaining order; their treatment was significantly different from that of the local army, thus serving as a consumable resource and a tool for maintaining stability.

Under Shan Meixian's swift and decisive governance, Yingzhou, a land that had just experienced the baptism of blood and fire, was rapidly integrated into the war machine of the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Countless amounts of gold and silver were extracted and transported to the mainland by sea; the grassroots social structure was forcibly reshaped, and old memories and identities were systematically diluted and covered up.

While the northern warlords were still racking their brains over the gains and losses of individual cities and territories in the Central Plains, the Heavenly Alliance had already set its sights on the vast ocean. Conquering Yingzhou not only brought them important precious metal resources, but also a stable eastern flank and a powerful forward naval base.

………………

Winter of 620 AD.

The biting north wind howled down from the vast Mongolian Plateau, sweeping across this ancient land without any hindrance.

The wind howled as it swept across the withered grass, stirring up the floating snow and dust from the ground, turning the world into a hazy, gray mess. The sky was a leaden, low-hanging dome, sparingly letting in a few sparse rays of light that brought no warmth whatsoever.

This place was once the site of Huaihuang Town, one of the six towns of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the northern key to guarding Pingcheng.

Standing here today, looking around, all I can feel is a deep-seated desolation and decay, a near-dead silence left behind after being repeatedly ravaged by time and war.

That once majestic earthen wall now resembles an ugly scar crawling across the earth. The wall is no longer as tall and straight as it once was; over hundreds of years of wind and rain erosion, human damage, and subsequent neglect, it has become low, dilapidated, and fragmented.

Huge gaps are visible everywhere, as if gnawed by a giant beast. Collapsed clods of earth are piled up at the base of the walls, mixed with weeds and frozen soil, making them indistinguishable. The surface of the walls is covered with crisscrossing grooves and marks of rain and wind erosion, and the exposed rammed earth layers are constantly peeling away under the action of freeze-thaw cycles.

Walking along the ruins, one can occasionally see the bases of some taller mounds or beacon towers, standing alone in the wilderness like enormous tombs.

The rooftop platform, originally used for setting off signal fires and observing enemy movements, has long since collapsed, leaving only a few crumbling, cracked walls standing alone, shivering in the cold wind.

Climbing these foundations opens up a wide view, but also makes one feel the desolation of this land more deeply. The former drill grounds, barracks, and granary areas are now reduced to a few raised earthen embankments and scattered bricks and tiles.

Some smaller fortifications and outposts have been almost completely razed to the ground, and their exact locations are difficult to discern without the guidance of locals or familiarity with maps. Only the occasional rusty arrowheads, broken spearheads, or fragmented bricks bearing the blurred reign title of the Northern Wei Dynasty, unearthed from the frozen ground, silently tell the story of the blood that flowed here and the missions that were carried out.

During the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Emperor Gao Yang ordered the abandonment of the Six Garrisons and the relocation of the people inland. This decree completely ended Huaihuang's fate as a strategically important military town. Since then, there has been no systematic restoration, only relentless forgetting and natural erosion. These once-impregnable fortresses have now become dens for foxes and wild rats, temporary shelters for travelers from wind and snow, and the most silent witnesses to the profound changes this land has undergone.

Huaihuang is located at the intersection of the Central Plains agricultural civilization and the northern grassland civilization. During the height of the Northern Wei Dynasty, relying on the military garrison system and the land reclamation policy, it was once a prosperous frontier with lush mulberry and hemp fields and endless fields of crops. However, the scene today has been completely transformed.

The large-scale, orderly farmland has long since vanished. As far as the eye can see, there is only an endless wasteland. Only near the scattered villages can one find small patches of "fields" roughly divided by rough stone embankments, containing remnants of low-lying millet stalks or stubble of hardy pasture grasses that were not fully harvested last year. This land is barren, cultivated using primitive methods, and yields extremely limited output, barely enough to keep the small population in the villages from starving.

The decline of agriculture has led to the resurgence of animal husbandry as the dominant mode of production in this land. Scattered flocks of sheep and emaciated cattle and horses can be seen struggling to find any grass roots and moss that can feed them on the withered grass.

The herdsmen, dressed in heavy, filthy old sheepskin coats, their faces wrapped in coarse windproof cloth, huddled on horseback or crouched behind sheltered earthen slopes, their eyes numb yet wary. They are not purely nomadic grassland people; most are descendants of indigenous peoples forced to abandon agriculture and rely on herding, or scattered herders who have come to live with them. Their livestock are small, making them extremely vulnerable to disaster; a single snowstorm could lead to their annihilation.

Climate change seems to be exacerbating this shift. Compared to the Northern Wei period, winters here are much longer and harsher. Frozen ground is several feet deep, rivers are frozen, and the lack of effective irrigation facilities makes the hope for agricultural recovery increasingly slim. The land seems to be stubbornly and cruelly shedding its agricultural traces and returning to its nomadic nature.

Compared to the bustling life of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians during the Northern Wei Dynasty, the population of Huaihuang is now extremely sparse. Occasionally, one can see some low-lying villages that seem ready to be buried by wind and snow at any moment.

These villages were completely unplanned, with dozens of households haphazardly clustered together. The houses were mostly built with local materials, such as adobe bricks, or simply semi-subterranean dwellings covered with thatch and mud, low and dark. The smoke from the chimneys was thin and weak, quickly dispersed by the cold wind. The villages were surrounded by crude wooden fences or collapsed mud walls, serving more as a psychological comfort than any real defense against attack.

The people living here are of extremely diverse backgrounds. The largest group consists of descendants of the Six Garrisons. Their ancestors were once the most elite border guards of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but after a series of upheavals, including Emperor Xiaowen's southward relocation, the Six Garrisons Rebellion, and the abandonment of the Northern Qi Dynasty, they had long lost their former glory and status.

Those who remained on this ancestral land were mostly lower-ranking military households and their descendants who had been unable or unwilling to migrate south. Centuries of isolation and cohabitation had made them highly "barbarianized." They spoke a Han language with a strange accent, heavily influenced by Turkic and Xianbei vocabulary, and their lifestyle was a mix of nomadic and agricultural practices. The men were mostly skilled in horsemanship and archery, possessing a fierce yet stoic character. They lacked identification with the southern dynasties (whether the former Northern Wei, Northern Qi, or the current Dou Jiande), and survival was their only guiding principle.

In addition, there were nomadic people from the grasslands. Some small Turkic tribes, or Khitan and Xi tribes, would seasonally graze their herds in this buffer zone. Their relationship with the local inhabitants was delicate, involving both friction and trade. There were also refugees who had fled here during the various wars in the Central Plains. Like rootless duckweed, they struggled to survive and were the most vulnerable group in this land.

These diverse inhabitants collectively constitute the unique social landscape of Huaihuang Ancient Land. They lack a unified identity, and internal conflicts frequently arise. Bloodshed can erupt over limited water resources, pastures, or even a single grain of food.

Dou Jiande's Great Xia nominally governed this area, but Leshou's policies had negligible impact, limited to occasional symbolic taxation and nominal control. True order was determined by strength and the instinct for survival.

Because of this power vacuum and the sensitivity of its geographical location, Huaihuang Ancient Land has become a dangerous "military transit zone" rather than the "military defense zone" it once was.

Small groups of Turkic cavalry would appear like ghosts on the horizon from time to time. They were few in number but well-equipped, highly skilled riders, and swift as the wind. They might be scouts sent to probe the south, or seasonal bandits. Their presence meant killing, robbery, and plunder. Local villages and scattered herders both feared them and were sometimes forced to engage in clandestine transactions, exchanging intelligence or limited supplies for temporary safety or a few necessities.

Similarly, envoys or small troops from the southern forces (mainly Dou Jiande's side) might secretly traverse this area to reach the grasslands and conduct some kind of contact or negotiation with the Turks. This wilderness became a gray channel for various forces to secretly compete and transmit information.

In addition, some pure bandit gangs also emerged locally. They were composed of desperate soldiers who had fled to the mountains, bankrupt herders, and local ruffians. They either gathered in the mountains or hid in some ruins, robbing passing merchants (mainly risk-takers who smuggled contraband such as salt and iron) or attacking villages with weaker defenses.

Walking on this land, in addition to fighting against the harsh natural environment, one must also be constantly on guard against unknown dangers from all sides.

Here, trust is a luxury; swords, arrows, and mounts are the only guarantees of survival. (End of Chapter)