Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 453 You win, win, win, but in the end you lose everything.
Just as Li Shiji led tens of thousands of soldiers, covering their mouths and feet, traveling day and night, trying every means to conceal their whereabouts, and swiftly and aggressively marching towards the capital of Japan.

Naniwa Castle at this time.

Nothing happened.

If I had to pinpoint a major event that happened during this period...

That is, the capital city has been immersed in the atmosphere of winning mahjong.

Due to information delays, what is currently reaching the Japanese mainland is still the "news" that "Japanese samurai are brave and skillful in battle, achieving successive victories on the peninsula."

Along with the letters from the battlefield came the spoils of war that the soldiers were sending home.

These are real, plundered gold and silver treasures; there's no way to fake them!
This unprecedented victory for the Japanese army has become the biggest topic of conversation in Naniwa capital city for the past two days. The usually docile Japanese people bluntly stated that the Japanese army's repeated victories are truly a source of great pride.

The capital city of Naniwa immediately descended into jubilation, which gradually evolved into an almost fanatical personality cult of Emperor Kōtoku.

Before the Soga clan returned power to His Majesty the Emperor, the Wa people were still a collection of tribes that fought independently.

Emperor Kōtoku had only been on the throne for six months, and the Taika Reform had only just begun.

The Yamato samurai were invincible on the front lines.

There's plenty of time; we'll win big then!

What country did the Soga clan rule? Could they even fight a war? No, they couldn't. They didn't have the ability, you know?
Now, under Emperor Kōtoku's rule, he defeated Silla immediately after ascending the throne. After defeating Silla, he defeated Baekje, and then the Ming Dynasty. After that, no one else can defeat him.

Besides His Majesty the Emperor, who else can lead this island nation from one victory to another?
The celebration of victory swept through every level of Namba Castle from top to bottom.

The carnivores got their share of the meat, while the herbivores at the bottom got their share of the grass—

You could say that the millet that the soldier sent home, which might have been moldy, was actually straw.

As for where these blood-stained grains came from...

What kind of hellish ordeal did the peninsula farmers, who were of the same social class as them, endure before "offering" their rations to the Japanese soldiers?

The Japanese people remained in the dark for the time being, pretending not to know.

They can only see immediate benefits.

Driven by the spoils of war, the entire capital, and indeed the entire archipelago, descended into a state of frenzy.

They felt they had found the secret to wealth.

That is external expansion.

They don't need to work from sunrise to sunset, nor do they need to toil in the soil for food.

Under His Majesty the Emperor's leadership, warriors from all the island's nations can organize themselves and cross the sea to plunder.

Then a steady stream of wealth and food poured in.

Then why would anyone bother farming?

This fervor for foreign aggression, mixed with worship of the Emperor and longing for the Taika Reform, gradually evolved into a collective frenzy.

This frenzy finally reached its peak on the winter solstice.

On this traditional festival (borrowed from the Tang Dynasty), news arrived that the capitals of Silla and Baekje had fallen one after another, coinciding with His Majesty the Emperor's grand celebration of victory.

The triple joy transformed the entire Namba Castle into a sea of ​​happiness, filling even the cold winter air with a vibrant atmosphere.

The palace and its surroundings were adorned with banners proclaiming "May Sabi and Jincheng fall!" and the citizens wore smug expressions on their faces.

Even the most destitute commoners and slaves would involuntarily raise their chests when they thought of the Yamato samurai's consecutive victories on the continent.

Early in the morning, a large number of citizens spontaneously gathered outside Naniwa Palace.

The grand victory celebration on the winter solstice is about to begin, and His Majesty the Emperor will soon leave the palace for his routine "Winter Solstice Visit".

Unlike a certain major country, the emperor here, although he has long lacked real power, possesses a divine quality inherited from the priests of primitive tribes, and is rarely seen by ordinary people.

This is probably the only opportunity throughout the year that allows the common people of Japan to observe their new emperor with their own eyes.

That young emperor who brought them such great victory must be a living god sent down by Amaterasu to take them to heaven!

If I could catch a glimpse of His Majesty's splendor, it would be worth dying for!

The palace gates opened wide, and a long royal procession slowly marched out.

Upon seeing the chrysanthemum crest representing the Emperor and the Imperial Family on the flag, they erupted in a deafening roar:
"His Majesty the Emperor resigns! His Majesty the Emperor resigns!"

These citizens could not hide their admiration for His Majesty the Emperor, who had led Japan to great success, and they knelt on the ground, cheering in waves.

Their enthusiasm was met with the merciless beatings from the palace guards.

Japan doesn't have the politically correct Confucian tradition of "the people are more important than the ruler." The king is the king, and who would want to share the joy with you lowly commoners?
The representatives of the people in the capital were met with indifference, beaten by the guards of the beloved Emperor, howling and pleading in pain.

"Your Majesty! We are so loyal, why..."

The guards whipped them wantonly while laughing and taunting them.

"Who do you think you are? Daring to defile the noble living gods with your lowly gaze? You are no longer ordinary people; we must strike hard!"

In an effort to impress his superior, the guards attacked with all their might, their whips leaving afterimages.

They beat the treacherous officials so badly that they fled in terror, coughing up blood.

Just as the soldiers and civilians were mingling together.

The long procession slowly drove out of the Namba Palace gates, completely ignoring the chaotic streets of the capital.

In the very center of the ceremonial procession, surrounded by "elite" warriors clad in lacquered bamboo armor.

The palace servants carefully carried a sedan chair on their shoulders and moved forward slowly.

The sedan chair's materials and craftsmanship were rather shabby, but the front was adorned with a huge, pure gold chrysanthemum pattern.

It was extremely disproportionate to the cramped elevator car.

This was Emperor Kōtoku's "imperial carriage".

The car window was moved open from the inside.

Emperor Kōtoku poked his head out from among them, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the bloodied and battered people lying on the ground, panting. His cold eyes were like those he would look at a stray dog ​​on the street.

Immediately, however, his eyes filled with eagerness, and he called out to someone nearby with great affection:
"The eminent monk Jianzheng?"

The high monk walked to the window, looking down at the Emperor's head with a humble slight bow:

"Your Majesty, this humble monk is at your service at any time."

Capable yet humble, and with a pleasant voice, this eminent monk from the Ming Dynasty in the East truly delivered emotional value.

Emperor Kōtoku grew increasingly smug, and feigning composure, asked:
"It's nothing important, but I have a question in my mind that I would like to ask a high monk to answer for me."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"I've heard that the current young emperor of the Ming Dynasty is also a young hero who has achieved remarkable success in his early political career. How do I compare to him?"

Jian Zheng was filled with awe and respect.

Although he was a professional spy for the Ming Dynasty and had received professional training, he knew that he was like a nanny in a nursery, whose task was to make the target happy, and he would not laugh easily himself.

However, in his mind, he still instinctively compared the other party to his own emperor.

Emperor Ming had been on the throne for almost six months, and he did nothing particularly noteworthy except for three minor things:
Unify the mainland, eliminate powerful clans, and build national infrastructure.

But this one is quite something.

They bullied the Koreans, robbed some of the wealth that the Ming Dynasty had bestowed upon them on the peninsula, and made the largest lump of gold into a chrysanthemum, which they placed at the front of their sedan chair.

Jianzheng subconsciously glanced at the chrysanthemum pattern that seemed utterly out of place on the shabby sedan chair, then looked at the Japanese commoner who had been beaten to his knees beside him. He inwardly marveled at the diversity of humankind, then confessed his delirium to Buddha before answering with great professionalism:
"You are far superior to me; how could Li Ming possibly compare?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Kōtoku was overjoyed and burst into laughter.

"Admittedly, there is one thing I cannot compare to him in, and that is the ability to degrade one's own country."

"Just a summer flood has left him completely disoriented, refusing to help his vassal states in their time of need. How shameful! Hahaha!"

"Hehe, yes." Even the usually eloquent monk Jianzheng was speechless at the other party's bizarre thought process and could only give a perfunctory reply.

You can't say too much, or he'll have a hard time keeping his composure.

Ok?
Emperor Kōtoku, who was always sensitive, felt as if the other party was mocking him.

Fortunately, this epic victory put him in a good mood, so he decided to temporarily refrain from pursuing the other party's suspected disrespectful behavior.

He's quite tolerant when he's in a good mood.

"Your Majesty the Emperor!" Nakatomi no Kamatari seized the opportunity to approach, intentionally or unintentionally pushing aside the bald monk who was vying for the Emperor's favor from the window.

"Is the procedure the same as in previous years?"

He was referring to the annual winter solstice worship ceremony performed by the Emperor and the Imperial Family.

The ceremony took place at Lake Biwa, outside Namba Castle.

There's a royal shrine by the lake, and the staff there have only one task—

That is, on the winter solstice, one would strike the frozen lake with a pickaxe, make a divination based on the cracks, and say a few obscure and auspicious words to the emperor.

Simply put, it was the Emperor going to the countryside to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the frozen lake.

This leisure activity was transformed into an extremely costly and lengthy ritual by the Japanese, who were very skilled at carving patterns on excrement.

"This year should be different from previous years; it should reflect the new atmosphere of the Taika Reform," Emperor Kōtoku said calmly.

His trusted confidant, Nakatomi Kamatari, immediately understood.

His Majesty wishes this year's ceremony to be more extravagant, more lavish, and more elaborate.

"Your Majesty, I understand."

The lengthy ceremony continued into the night.

Until the sun went down, it was pitch black all around.

The priests who were serving the Emperor at the banquet and changing songs were finally able to take a break and carry out today's main event.

In full view of everyone, right in the center of the torches.

He took out an iron pickaxe that was said to be the one Susanoo used to slay the Yamata no Orochi, and struck it hard against the frozen lake surface.

…………

Click.

In the fire, a white, arc-shaped "bowl" with strange stitching at the top crackled and popped as it burned, revealing a crack.

Several fully armed Ming soldiers gathered around, pretending to study the crack for a while, and then looked at one of their comrades.

"I've heard that in your hometown of Songzhou, there's a divination method that can predict good or bad fortune based on the cracks left when a person's skull is burned?"

The comrades used branches to pry the white "bowl" out of the fire—which was actually a human skull—and skillfully pushed it in front of their comrade.

"Why don't you do the math and see if it's auspicious or inauspicious?"

The guy from Songzhou was speechless:

"I've said it so many times, we usually use tortoise shells, not human skulls where we're from."

His comrades laughed:
"Come on, who's going to find you a tortoise on the battlefield?"

"Anyway, there are plenty of Japanese heads, so you can make do with whatever you have."

The old man from Song sighed:

"I think you guys just want to burn the heads of those little Japanese people for fun—"

"But I like it too."

He picked up the fragment of the Japanese skull and began to seriously examine the crack on its top.

The Song people are said to be descendants of the Shang Dynasty people.

We old-fashioned merchants have a penchant for the supernatural. Using human bones to divine good or bad fortune is quite a sophisticated practice.

Songzhou was located along the Bian River.

Needless to say, they have also suffered greatly from the changes in the Yellow River's course.

They have an irreconcilable hatred for the Japanese.

"Ok?"

The Songzhou soldier clicked his tongue, scoffed, and tossed the skull fragment into a nearby pile of trash.

There, the skulls of the Japanese had been piled up into mountains.

They clearly have great respect for ghosts and gods, and have performed many human sacrifices.

Everyone was a little discouraged.

"Is the divination result still bad?"

The merchant's descendant spat, not answering directly, but complaining instead:

"I told you, we still have to use tortoise shells. The Japanese aren't as smart as tortoises."

The atmosphere turned cold.

Although the technology of the Ming Dynasty was still somewhat more advanced than that of the Shang Dynasty.

But even though no one said it, everyone still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Some brilliant person spoke up:
"We use the Japanese mindset for divination, so the results are also for the Japanese."

"If it's bad luck for the Japanese, then it's good luck for us, isn't it?"

Oh? Hiss...

After thinking for a moment, everyone slapped their foreheads:
"Yes!"

The atmosphere became lively again.

"Come on, let's drink!"

The soldiers drank the wine in their cups in one gulp.

Although this place is several hundred miles away from the original starting point, Changmen Port.

However, thanks to Minister Xue, the logistics were continuously replenished, and there was never a shortage of supplies.

Even the lowest-ranking soldiers on the front lines still have wine and meat to eat.

Everyone gathered around the fire, drinking and eating meat, relieving the fatigue of the long march, and enjoying themselves immensely.

On the hillside, Li Shiji gazed solemnly at the flickering lights of the military camp below.

The covert march went very smoothly.

The soldiers are doing a great job, and the supplies are great too.

Most importantly, the enemy is also "helpful"—

His troops marched all the way from the coast of Nagato to this place, and apart from annihilating the local lord's retainers and massacring a few villages, they had not encountered any large-scale or organized resistance.

In other words, the Japanese headquarters is still unaware that a 10,000-strong vanguard has already infiltrated their territory, with the blade already at their throats.

At this time, the Ming army had already advanced to the outskirts of Naniwa as planned, and was only a step away from the royal palace.

There's no need to hide anymore.

Even if this large army were discovered by the Japanese now, the Japanese would have no time to react.

This is why Li Shiji allowed the troops to light fires and have a good meal to boost morale.

The next battle will be the real revenge.

He closed his eyes to steady himself, then nimbly mounted his horse and gave the order:

"Let's go!"

As the military order was relayed up the ranks, the soldiers who had been chatting and laughing just moments before fell silent.

The fire gradually went out.

The camp returned to its previous dark and silent state, as if no one had ever been there.

The long march in a foreign land did not affect the discipline of this army.

This sophisticated and efficient killing machine, silently...

They attacked the Japanese who were still lost in their dreams.

(End of this chapter)