Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 205: The Butcher

"I dare not. We will obey the general's orders."

Jushi Deduo bowed hurriedly and apologized with a smile. At this moment, his life was completely in the hands of the other party, so how dare he give orders?
He was even more aware of the severity of the current situation and that he must not show any thoughts of commanding the army.

Otherwise, the slightest carelessness could bring disaster to all the soldiers and civilians.

Death will not be just one person.

"In order to ensure the stability of the situation, I'm afraid that you generals will have to bear some grievances temporarily and follow me."

Futu Daochen seemed to speak softly. However, if someone thought he was gentle, they would be totally wrong!

In reality, this is tantamount to imprisoning them.

"I'll wait to understand."

Jushi Deduo nodded helplessly. It was a blessing that they were not thrown into prison. After all, as generals of the Japanese army, they still had a strong appeal even after surrendering.

No one in their right mind would allow them to have contact with the outside world again.

"Don't be nervous, just follow me into the city."

Along the way, several people talked and laughed, and the atmosphere was unexpectedly harmonious.

This scene also made the originally restless Japanese military and civilians completely put their minds at ease.

"Catch me!"

After stepping into Ueno Castle, the scene suddenly changed. Futu Daochen quickened his pace, flashed out, and a loud shout came out of his mouth.

His originally kind face suddenly turned gloomy, as if covered by a layer of frost.

Behind him were dozens of personal guards who rushed forward like lightning.

In an instant, before the Japanese generals including Jyousei Tokudo, Maono Wakiko and Azumi Hirafu could react to what was happening, they were ruthlessly pinned to the cold ground by these strong guards.

Then, rough hemp ropes quickly wrapped around them like snakes, and in the blink of an eye they were tied up like dumplings, tightly and unable to move at all.

"Futu Daochen, what on earth do you want to do?"

Azumi Hirafu widened his eyes and shouted at Futu Daochen with anger on his face. His roar echoed in the air, carrying endless unwillingness and resentment. It was obvious that the other party would not let them go easily.

The other generals were also gritting their teeth, their eyes wide open, glaring at Futu Daochen fiercely.

Everyone was acutely aware that something seemed to be wrong.

Maybe he was deceived into surrendering.

"Hmph, what am I going to do? Of course I'm going to make you guys behave yourself! As a surrendered general, you should behave like a surrendered general and receive the treatment you deserve."

Futu Daochen sneered, his tone full of contempt and disdain.

Having said this, he paused for a moment, then added:
"Oh no, to be precise, you are not surrendered generals, but outright traitors!"

"You surrendered the city without the permission of the superiors. How can you trust me now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Futu Daochen finally stopped concealing his inner sinisterness and cunningness, and completely revealed his hideous and terrifying true face.

"Futu Daochen, tell me, how does Li Chengqian plan to deal with us generals, as well as the soldiers and civilians of Shangye City?"

At this time, Jushi Deduo suppressed his anger and asked Futu Daochen in a calm tone.

He didn't dare to think too much, for he was most afraid that Li Chengqian would order them all to be killed.

"No, no, you are wrong. This is how Ben will deal with you."

Futu Daochen replied.

Hearing this, Jushi Deduo's heart instantly sank to the bottom. He seemed to have lost all his strength. He slumped to the ground, staring at Futu Daochen with extremely resentful eyes.

This answer says it all.

"You guys are so... cruel!"

Almost every word burst out from Jushideduo's mouth. One can imagine how great the hatred he had.

cheated.

He was ready to be killed, and he was taking all the soldiers and civilians in the city with him.

"You are really crazy. There are more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians here. How could you do that? How dare you?"

Mao Yezhizi struggled hard to break free from the restraints, and was very unwilling to do so.

"Two hundred thousand?"

Futu Daochen lowered his head, a cold look appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"The success of a general is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of men. Since we entered Japan, the number of souls who have fallen under the sword of our army has never been more than 200,000. Now it is just a fraction of that."

Futu Daochen's tone was icy cold, as if these 200,000 lives were just numbers.

"Why? Why do you want to kill us all? Civilians are innocent, why? This will not benefit you at all."

Jushi Deduo roared, unwillingly and desperately.

Why?

Futu Daochen couldn't explain it clearly either, all he could say was orders.

And this is indeed the essence of war.

There is no morality in killing and plundering.

"You will all die miserably!"

Jushi Deduo could only curse with resentment.

"Take him away and keep him under strict guard. If he resists, kill him on the spot!"

Futu Daochen turned around and climbed to the top of the city wall, no longer paying attention to these dead men.

"Li Chengqian, you tyrant, you butcher!"

"You are untrustworthy, and you will die a miserable death!"

……

The sound of cursing gradually disappeared at the end of the street.

Futu Daochen climbed to the top of the city wall and looked around. There were huge crowds of people, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Separate them in batches and don't cause unrest!"

Futu Daochen opened his mouth with great difficulty, and couldn't bear to look at it.

As long as there are borders, there will always be killing.

The number of people killed and wounded in the future will definitely be more than 200,000, but much more.

"Yes!" The deputy general bowed and stepped back.

Not long after, under the escort of the Tang army, they entered Ueno Castle in batches.

They were confused and had no idea where they were being taken, so they could only follow passively.

"Pass the order down. No rape or humiliation will occur. Those who violate the order will be killed without mercy. Give them a quick death!"

This is the only kindness that Futu Daochen has left.

The messenger ran quickly and disappeared in the city road.

Futu Daochen didn't know where he went.

He didn't even know what means were used.

But it is also from today onwards.

Futu Daochen was no longer called Futu Daochen, but was called Futufu.

It is synonymous with killing.

A few days later, Ueno Castle was surprisingly quiet.

The Tang army soldiers patrolling on the top of the city also looked depressed, with some young soldiers huddled in the corner, trembling with fear in their eyes.

"General, are we still the righteous army? Are we wrong, or are they wrong?"

The young soldier murmured to the old soldier, his faith gradually collapsing at this moment.

I saw the old soldier squatting down and leaning against the city wall, looking very tired.

There is physical fatigue and mental exhaustion.

"We did nothing wrong. Soldiers' duty is to obey orders."

The old soldier said comfortingly.

"But, those unarmed civilians were not at fault, were they? Isn't it our fault that we slaughtered them all the way here?" Extreme killing would cause resentment and doubt among the soldiers. The most terrifying one was Xiaoying.

"That's right. Nothing is wrong. What's wrong is the way things are. If we don't kill them, they will come and rob us. If they don't rob us, they will probably starve to death."

The old soldier continued to explain, and he seemed to have become more open-minded.

After all, he is a veteran.

I've seen so many scenes.

It’s not like we haven’t experienced massacres before.

That's what a loser does.

If we lose, we will be the ones being slaughtered.

The winner is the one holding the knife.

War is so cruel. What happened in the past few days has been gagged, so how many people in the outside world know about it?

There are too many such incidents to count.

After passing through Ueno County, you will arrive in Shimotsuke County, which is also the location of the imperial capital, Namba Castle.

At this time, Emperor Kotoku was leading his troops to support Ueno Castle.

Suddenly, the entire army stopped advancing.

Several panicked Japanese pirates broke through the military formation and ran towards where the imperial flag was.

"What happened?"

Emperor Kotoku walked out of the imperial sedan chair with a dignified look on his face.

Every gesture and movement exudes the air of a king.

"Reporting to the Emperor, it seems that there is an urgent military report from Ueno Castle."

Prince Hairen looked up and pointed straight ahead.

"That won't stop the entire army from advancing, unless..."

Emperor Kotoku didn't dare to say any more.

Only when the enemy emerges will it be necessary to formulate a new strategy.

However, this is impossible.

It was only the first few days, and there were still hundreds of thousands of defenders in Ueno Castle, defending the city. It was absolutely impossible for it to fall so quickly.

Thinking of this, Emperor Kotoku felt a little relieved and stood waiting for the arrival of the messenger.

Soon, two Japanese soldiers arrived in front of the imperial carriage.

"Your Majesty, it's bad. All the soldiers and civilians in Ueno Castle have been killed by the rebels. Ueno Castle has been captured."

The soldier blurted out hastily.

"What did you say? Say it again."

Emperor Kotoku felt his mind went blank, the amount of information in this news was too huge.

"Li Chengqian tricked General Jushi into surrendering to the city by offering amnesty to the soldiers and civilians of Ueno City. After the soldiers and civilians of the city gave up their resistance, Li Chengqian ordered his men to kill our Japanese people in batches."

"We are also great generals. We stayed behind to report the situation in Ueno Castle to the Emperor. That's why we were spared."

"There were originally 3,000 soldiers, but they were chased all the way and dispersed by the rebel army. The rest of the soldiers are nowhere to be found."

"Li Chengqian was cruel and brutal, and massacred hundreds of thousands of Japanese people. I ask His Majesty the Emperor to seek justice for the dead souls."

The soldier said a lot in one breath, and finally knelt on his knees.

Emperor Kotoku's body was filled with blood and he almost vomited blood.

But in front of the three armies, he still held back.

He held onto the railing of the car and it took him a long time to catch his breath.

At this time, Japan was in a desperate situation and was almost doomed to be destroyed.

"Your Majesty, are you okay?"

Prince Renhai asked, at this time, Emperor Kotoku had to make the decision.

"The emperor is fine. Immediately spread this bad news to the entire army and tell all the Japanese people."

"The rebel leader Li Chengqian is a devil from hell. He kills all surrendered soldiers and civilians. If you want to survive, you have to take up arms and resist."

"I really want to surrender to the devil, but that will only lead to my death. Only by resisting can I have a chance of survival."

Japan has fallen into a desperate situation, and perhaps only a desperate fight can repel the Tang army.

Soon, a cavalryman passed down the order.

"Rebels, where have you marched to now?"

Emperor Kotoku then turned to ask the soldier.

"We will enter Shimotsuke County in about one more day."

The soldiers replied that they were fleeing individually and could move much faster than the large army.

"Order all the generals of the major armies to come to discuss matters. The front troops should immediately build defensive fortifications, cut off the main road, and clear all flat areas."

Emperor Kotoku blocked the way forward without any hesitation, thus blocking the Tang army's attack route.

He was well aware of the strength of the Tang cavalry, so he wisely changed the route.

There is nothing wrong with the strategic deployment.

Under the command of Emperor Kotoku, the Japanese army quickly deployed and formed a defensive formation.

His martial arts and literary skills are both strong.

"Did Jushideduo and Maoye Zhizi get kicked in the head by a donkey? They actually surrendered."

"Stupid, stupid!"

Angry curses were heard from inside the makeshift military tent.

The surrender of Jushidedo caught them all off guard.

What exactly was the reason that made him make such a decision.

"The matter is settled. It is meaningless to pursue it further. The most urgent task is to resist the rebels and save Japan from danger."

Looking at the people still arguing below, Emperor Kotoku felt even more overwhelmed.

"The rebels are good at field battles. I think it is inappropriate to defend here. We should retreat to Nanba Castle and defend it."

There were no strategic locations to defend in Shimotsuke County, so a head-on conflict with the Tang army was highly taboo.

After many battles, they suffered a lot.

"General Jushi surrendered because the rebels had a divine weapon that could split the city apart. If that's the case, defending the city would only be self-defeating."

"On the contrary, I believe that we should take advantage of our knowledge of the terrain and proactively attack the rebels."

Prince Hairen didn't want to sit and wait for death any longer. They had been in a passive position all along.

"The rebels have been attacking for a long time, so they must be exhausted. We have rested for many days now, so we can surely defeat them when we are tired."

The other prince, Prince Nakada Oe, also agreed very much.

Both of them have a grand strategic vision.

He also has courage that is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

If nothing unexpected happened, both of them would be famous emperors in Japanese history.

Prince Umito later became Emperor Tenmu, and Prince Nakano Oe became Emperor Tenji.

Both of them had achieved great political achievements during their tenure.

The previous Jushi Deduo had always been the Left Minister during their administration. When the Tang Dynasty reached its peak, Japan also entered a glorious era.

But now, the national strength has been greatly reduced. Even if Li Chengqian is finally defeated, the glory will never be restored and the country can only linger on.

The Japanese pirates have only reached their current scale since the Han Dynasty.

"Generals and ministers, who is willing to lead the army to attack the rebels and serve the country?"

Emperor Kotoku had no intention of retreating because there was no other way to retreat.

With the whole country in grief, perhaps this is an opportunity.

(End of this chapter)