Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 443 Kill!

"The Japanese pirates are coming! Folks, run!"

"My child! But my child... oh!"

"You beasts, I'll fight you to the death!"

puff.

Screams, running sounds, the sound of sharp weapons tearing flesh.

About an hour later, everything fell silent.

The deserted coastline was left only by the howling north wind.

The southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, Baekje Kingdom, outside Suncheon Prefecture.

The Japanese army swept through the desolate village, searching for anything that could be used.

The villagers' bodies were dragged out of the village houses by the Japanese soldiers and piled up like logs in the open space at the entrance of the village, forming a small hill.

The corpse's face still bore expressions of fear or hatred.

After a morning of searching, the sun reached its highest point of the day, and the temperature began to rise.

The pile of corpses was swarming with mosquitoes and flies, emitting a nauseating stench of decay.

The Japanese soldiers, dragging their blood-stained bamboo spears, walked dejectedly out of the village and reported to the officer of the squad, heads hanging low:

"General, we found nothing. No food, no supplies, no treasures..."

The officer rode a Japanese horse that was not much bigger than a dog, and given his short stature, he looked quite comical.

Although he was of Japanese descent, he was quite famous.

He participated in the "Otsai Coup" this year, in which the prince ruthlessly killed the Soga clan and ascended to the throne, and was officially appointed as a shogun.

The General of the Western Expedition was furious upon hearing this:
"Fool! You can't even handle something as small as plundering a few farmers. How can you repay His Majesty the Emperor's kindness!"

After saying that, he slapped the skinny soldier across the face, making him stagger and see stars.

After slapping him, the officer was still not satisfied and spat on him.

"Idiots! If we can't find a single grain of rice, you won't eat today!"

After a barrage of threats, the Japanese soldiers were driven back to the empty village and continued their thorough search.

"Koreans, so cunning."

The Japanese officer bared his teeth at the corpses of the two villagers.

With the example of the Japanese chieftain who was a paragon of virtue, the entire Japanese army's character oscillated between the extremes of "gentleness" and "violentness."

The current Japanese army is clearly targeting the "violent" level.

The war's progress has deviated slightly from their expectations.

After the Fujiwara clan led their elite knights to infiltrate the mainland, breached the Yellow River dike, and caused an unprecedented flood in the Central Plains.

King "Qing" of Wa, following the established plan, dispatched all the warships and troops at his disposal to advance towards Silla and Baekje.

It was already autumn, and the weather and location were perfect; the Sea of ​​Japan (now known as the Sea of ​​Japan) was calm and still.

The Japanese army crossed the vast sea and successfully landed on the peninsula, where they made great strides.

Then, while we can't say it was a complete failure, it was also utterly useless.

The people of the peninsula had long since developed resilience during the years they were ravaged by Japanese pirates.

That is the four words "fortify the walls and clear the fields".

As everyone knows, Japan is a poor, imperialist country.

They crossed the sea, carrying grand slogans like "punishing the arrogant Korea," "Japan and Korea as one," and "civilizing the Western barbarians," but it was all just talk.

They traveled a long way just for one thing:

grab!
To deal with these bandits, the people of Silla and Baekje in the Two Han kingdoms devised effective countermeasures.

hide!
If the Japanese could send people across the sea, could they also transport supplies across the sea?

Can't you?
If we hide our people and our food, won't we just starve them to death?
Under this tactic, the Japanese army's offensive was indeed greatly thwarted.

Logistics were virtually nonexistent; they could only rely on the enemy for food.

If the enemy has no food, then they will go hungry.

When people are hungry for too long, they gradually become abnormal.

This made the already poor military discipline of the Japanese even worse.

Arson, murder, looting, and leaving no survivors are just the basics.

If they are truly starving, they can "obtain food from the enemy," literally.

The Japanese commander looked at the pile of corpses at the village entrance and his throat moved.

Grain? Isn't all of this grain?
"General!"

The soldier reported back excitedly, drawing his attention away from the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood.

His men didn't bring food or any other resources, but rather two local villagers, alive.

A pregnant woman and a child.

The woman looked utterly dejected, numb with despair. The child, meanwhile, whimpered, oblivious to what was about to happen.

The Japanese chieftain's eye twitched, and he glared at his clueless subordinate.

So you're inviting me to eat sashimi?

The soldier shuddered, not daring to keep them in suspense, and quickly reported:
"General! This village is not without food and treasure, but the cunning villagers have hidden them all!"

"If we capture these two, they can show us the way!"

Oh?
Collaborators, that's a good option.

The Japanese army leader dismounted and, speaking in broken Mandarin, asked the pregnant woman:
"Your, Mishi Mishi, where is it?"

The pregnant woman, while not exactly understanding, was completely clueless, staring blankly at the other person.

The leader clearly had little patience and gestured to the soldier beside him.

"Yes!"

The soldiers, who were humble to their superiors, suddenly turned vicious when facing unarmed civilians. They picked up bamboo spears and stabbed at the pregnant woman's belly.

Poor imperialism has no proper weapons or equipment, and can't even produce many iron tools. Ordinary soldiers can only use sharpened bamboo as fire sticks.

This thing is blunt and brittle; it's just a showpiece on the battlefield and can't penetrate armor at all.

But precisely because of this, stabbing someone directly into the body, a method of death that is even more protracted than cutting flesh with a dull knife, only brings greater suffering to the victim.

The pregnant woman's face contorted instantly as she struggled and collapsed into a pool of blood. Even as the contents of her stomach were forcibly expelled, she was still not completely dead, her eyes wide open.

The general laughed heartily and gave the child a kind smile.

"lead the way?"

The children were terrified and nodded blankly.

Led by the young guide, the Japanese found a hidden cellar deep in a mountain cave.

Inside, besides piles of rice and grains, there were even a considerable amount of dried meat and dried fish.

There were even a few pieces of gold and silver jewelry.

When it came to serving the Ming Dynasty, the Baekje people were serious. The entire population raised chickens, and they single-handedly supported half of the Ming Dynasty's poultry market.

In return, the Ming dynasty raised its dogs to be fat and strong.

“There’s food, there’s food!”

The Japanese soldiers cheered.

"Shut up!"

The leader shouted sternly.

Everyone immediately fell silent.

Because their general looked very unwell.

He gets angry when he doesn't find food, and he gets angry even after he does. The general's temperament is truly hard to read...

"The Koreans have been slaves of our Yamato Kingdom for generations, yet they are able to eat silver relics!"

The Japanese army leader was so angry he trembled.

An ordinary village, yet it has rice to eat!

Even this nobleman, who was known as a "general," could only drink thin porridge twice a day!
This is an overstepping of authority! This is a shameless overstepping of authority!

How could this not drive him to the brink of madness with jealousy!

With a swift stroke, he beheaded the young collaborator.

The child remained bewildered until his death.

"ah!"

From behind a rock in the cave came another child's exclamation.

The sound stopped abruptly, as if someone nearby had covered her mouth.

"Oh?"

The Japanese man smirked:
"It seems that there are other treasures of this village hidden in the cave."

"They are their children."

The soldiers were eager to get started:

"Should we find them all?"

"No need." The leader waved his hand, his smile growing increasingly cruel.

"Since they like staying in the cave so much."

"Let them stay inside forever!"

…………

The Japanese army left like a gust of wind, leaving behind burning villages, piles of corpses in the open, and a cave sealed off by a boulder.

The faint sound of children crying could still be heard from the cave entrance.

Does this look familiar? Scenes like this happen all over the coast of the two Koreas.

Villages were massacred and towns were burned.

Nine out of ten houses are empty, and white bones are exposed in the wilderness. This is the capital of Baekje, Sabi Castle.

Inside the palace, King Buyeo Uija held his forehead in distress.

There was a letter in my hand.

A handwritten letter from the Japanese ruler, Emperor Kōtoku.

"This letter from His Majesty the Emperor advises you Koreans to be sensible."

"I believe you have already seen the heroic bearing of our Yamato warriors."
"Chief of the Western Barbarians, you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your capital, would you?"

The messenger's attitude was extremely arrogant, even more so than the legendary "Han envoy," which enraged King Yi-ja.

If it weren't for the eunuch Sahei stopping him, he would have almost killed the man.

"Damn it, that guy is too arrogant!"

King Uija's anger had not subsided.

The Han envoys had the backing of a powerful nation, giving them the right to be arrogant.

But what does Japan have?
Are they skilled in cunning and scheming ways to steal chickens?

"More than forty villages were destroyed, Bigucheng and Wanghaicheng were burned down, and more than ten thousand people were slaughtered..."

Baekje was a small country, and these losses were absolutely devastating.

Buyeo Yi-ja's heart was bleeding as he twisted the Japanese letter into a knot.

I unfolded it again, patiently reading it word by word.

"The emperor of the land of the rising sun greets the head of the Korean people and inquires about their well-being."

"The Han and Japanese peoples share the same roots. My ancestors came from the old land of the Koreans, crossed the Whale Sea, and came to the land of Japan."

"All the estrangement between the two countries today is due to the interference of the Ming Dynasty."

"Nowadays, the Emperor Ming has not cultivated virtue, so Heaven has punished him, and a great flood has been sent down to punish the Chinese people."

"This is a golden opportunity."

"Brother should abandon the barriers of the past, unite with Han, and prosper together with Han."

It must be admitted that Emperor Kōtoku's level of knowledge in Chinese classics was quite impressive.

Not only is the choice of words and sentence structure quite elegant, but the humility also contains a hidden arrogance, making people want to hit him but unable to find the right spot, leaving them only to feel angry in vain.

Moreover, his Chinese characters are written quite beautifully.

The letters were beautifully written, but the actions were extremely despicable.

"They slaughtered my people and destroyed my city..."

"Disgusting, disgusting!"

With both hands gripping the ends of the letter, Buyeo Uija strained to tear the malicious letter to shreds.

But after a pause, he finally put his hand down.

Can't afford to offend, can't afford to offend...

"His Majesty."

The prime minister of Baekje, the inner court official Sapyeong Buyeo Biru, quietly entered and reported:

"The Silla Queen's carriage has entered the capital."

…………

Queen Jindeok of Silla, the ruler of the Silla Kingdom.

As the other of the two Han kingdoms, Silla and Baekje upheld the spirit of "Wu and Yue sharing the same boat" (literal meaning), and had a love-hate relationship for many years.

As a former subordinate of the Tang Dynasty, Silla had just been soundly defeated by the Ming Dynasty's army and the Baekje people.

However, that's all in the past.

The Queen is now in the form of the Ming Dynasty, enjoying the warmth of Pyongyang alongside her Korean compatriots to the west.

Tangzhou is still too far away from both countries.

However, even the meager resources that Pyongyang manages to squeeze through its fingers are enough to feed two small countries to their hearts' content.

As their lives became increasingly prosperous, relations between Silla and Baekje quickly became peaceful.

We are all wings of the Ming Dynasty, so there is no need to distinguish between us.

Queen Zhende's decision to visit Sabi City at this time was certainly not to exchange experiences on being a dog... no, a vassal of the Ming Dynasty.

They came not to discuss the Japanese pirate threat with their Baekje counterparts.

Because Silla was to the east, closer to the Japanese islands, the Japanese were able to wreak havoc there even more rampantly.

"Your Majesty."

Buyeo Ui-ja treated his former adversary, now a fellow traveler, with dignified courtesy.

The Queen, however, had no time for formalities and went straight to the point, asking:
"Has your country sought help from the Ming Dynasty?"

She was driven to the brink of madness by the Japanese pirates; with war raging everywhere in Silla, it seemed impossible for her to live any longer.

King Uija sighed, his expression dejected.
"That's natural. I have requested assistance several times, but the great nation has only replied:"
"Hold on firmly, there will be a way."

As a vassal state, the Koreans were indeed adept at reporting any incidents to their superiors promptly.

"But the Ming army is slow to arrive. What should we do?"

Queen Jindeok looked directly into Buyeo Uija's eyes.

Buyeo Ui-ja instinctively looked away.

The unspoken message wasn't hard to guess—

Japan was no match for them, and their suzerain state wouldn't come to their aid.

Or should we just vote?
I really don't want to surrender...

This has nothing to do with integrity or loyalty.

Simply because following the Ming Dynasty meant there would be plenty of food to eat.

Although it has only been a few months, the two countries have become completely integrated into the economic ecosystem of the Ming Dynasty.

They lost their independence, their freedom, and their worries.

Now, let them abandon this patron and follow the Japanese...

They've had enough of the Japanese's behavior.

Buyeo Uija pondered for a moment, then looked at the prime minister beside him.

Fuyu Biliu shook his head slightly.

King Uija sighed and said:
"The Celestial Empire is facing natural disasters and is also in great difficulty itself; it is not that we would stand by and watch people die."

"We have received the Emperor's grace; how can we betray his trust and abandon our principles?"

"But the Celestial Empire has yet to respond. If this continues, our country will be razed to the ground by the Japanese!" Queen Zhende was extremely anxious.

"Hold on a little longer. When the time is right, the Celestial Empire will launch a thunderous attack."

"But when will the time be right?"

"...Let's wait a little longer."

Neither of the two vassal states had their own destiny in their own hands, so naturally they couldn't come up with any meaningful solutions.

The Queen of Silla returned home dejectedly.

"Ugh……"

After the guests left, the King of Baekje was completely disheartened.

He asked his prime minister, bewildered.

"Uncle, do you think... the Ming Dynasty might not be able to take care of us anymore?"

"I heard the floods on the mainland are quite severe, to the point of almost causing the country's demise..."

Although the tributary trade between Pyongyang of the Ming Dynasty and Silla and Baekje never ceased.

However, their interactions were limited to trade.

The suzerain state ignored all requests for help from its vassal states.

"What are they doing now? Are they preparing to send troops to help, or are they stuck in the quagmire of natural disaster?"

Buyeo Uija washed his face with his palms in distress.

Fu Yu Bi Liu gazed westward at the sea, the direction of the Ming Dynasty, and murmured softly:
"Come on, come on."

…………

at the same time.

The capital city, Tangzhou.

The ancestral temples and state palaces of the Ming Dynasty were wide open.

Ordinary people, regardless of their status, are welcome to enter.

The largest sacrificial ceremony since the founding of this dynasty is taking place here.

Mourning our compatriots who perished in the floods.

In other words, we mourn our compatriots who died at the hands of the Japanese.

Thousands of people are in peace.

Not only did the capital city throng with people, but compatriots from all over the country also traveled great distances to gather here.

"May you enjoy this meal!"

To be honest, the chief priest was muttering something in English on the stage, but no one could hear him or care.

However, as the sacrificial activities gradually deepened...

As the details of the flood were explained one by one.

As vivid memories of the devastation in the disaster area are repeatedly awakened.

In everyone's heart, a word slowly became clear, gradually occupying the center of their mind:

kill!

(End of this chapter)