Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 454 Run! Why aren't you running anymore?
"Hahaha! I am truly the first emperor of all time since the beginning of time!"

"What young hero Li Ming? He's nothing but a brat who forced his father to usurp the throne, was betrayed by everyone, and lost his composure at the slightest rain!"
"As for Li Shimin, the so-called 'Reign of Zhenguan,' he was overthrown by such a mere child, and the Tang Dynasty perished after only two generations, just like the tyrannical Qin and Sui dynasties. It seems that he was just so-so, and that's an exaggeration."

"As for Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Zhi... he was an even heavier figure. I don't even bother to talk about him; it would be beneath me... *hiccup*"

Emperor Kōtoku, hiccuping from drinking, offered a sharp critique of the emperors throughout Chinese history.

The sun sets over Lake Biwa.

After a long and elaborate divination ceremony, the Emperor and his retinue held a grand banquet at the lakeside shrine, as was their custom.

Meat was plentiful, and wine was abundant.

Shrines are places to enshrine deities, and it is perfectly reasonable for the Emperor, as a living god, to receive offerings from the people of the world at a shrine.

After a hearty meal and drinks, His Majesty the Emperor, emboldened by the alcohol, began to boast.

Emperor Kōtoku was portrayed as a gentleman, so although he physically abused his retainers and subordinates, he still tried to maintain restraint in his daily life.

After getting drunk, he abandoned even this small amount of restraint and began to spout nonsense.

Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han were both tyrants.

Zhou Wenhan's writing is too weak and mediocre.

Among all the heroes of the world, among the living Yao and Shun, there is only Emperor Kōtoku!
Fujiwara no Kamatari and his retainers blindly echoed his sentiments.

"Your Majesty is so powerful, how could Yao and Shun compare to you!"

Emperor Kōtoku's smile grew even brighter.

Meanwhile, His Majesty the Emperor's new favorite, the monk Kensei, simply drank water, leaned against the railing, and gazed at the setting sun, murmuring leisurely:

"How wonderful, how wonderful!"

To the southwest, the sky was a deep crimson, as if it were on fire.

Do high-ranking monks also experience pleasure?

When Kensei turned around, Emperor Kōtoku was right behind him, exhaling a breath of alcohol fumes at him.

"Is it because my army's victorious advance into the mainland caused the high monk to experience the pleasure of sexual intercourse?"

That's how the Japanese are. They seem very proper in normal times, but they lose all their decorum once they sit down at the dinner table. They can even make lewd jokes about monks.

Jianzheng was not offended, nor did he speak eloquently as before.

He simply smiled faintly and exhaled softly:

"It's almost over, it's about to end."

Emperor Kōtoku nodded in deep agreement:

"Yes, after we conquer Pyongyang, I will halt the troops at the front and secretly recall my personal guards."

"Alas, I also wish to personally lead an expedition. But these treacherous creatures within the country are causing trouble and still refuse to submit to my rule."

"I intend to personally lead my battle-hardened troops deep into their territory and explain the advantages and disadvantages to them. Since their troops are all on the peninsula, if they don't listen, then..."

“Haha, hahahaha!”

Half-drunk and half-awake, he arrogantly shared his plans for a shootout with outsiders and monks.

Monk Jianzheng merely offered a polite smile and remained silent in response to the brewing teapot storm.

…………

Of course, the joyous banquet did not last very late.

His Majesty the Emperor did not choose to spend the night at the scenic Lake Biwa.

The stated reason was that His Majesty was too busy with military and state affairs to attend to them.

Of course, the actual reason is simpler than that—

There was no official residence available for His Majesty the Emperor to stay at on the shores of Lake Biwa.

Because of poverty, there is only one shrine here.

It's acceptable to entertain the Emperor and his entourage with sightseeing and dinner.

As for accommodating His Majesty for lodging...

It was fine before the war, it was just a bit simpler than the palace.

However, after this epoch-making victory, Emperor Kōtoku felt that the meager facilities here were unworthy of his status as a world-class Go player.

Of course, this is just one of them.

Secondly, there are also deeper reasons.

That is, even His Majesty, a world-class chess player, still finds it difficult to consolidate his rule and extend his decrees too far beyond Naniwa Castle.

He did indeed achieve a brilliant victory on the mainland.

The problem was that the news had not yet spread throughout the entire Japanese islands and become the political basis for him to consolidate his rule.

Therefore, even His Majesty the Emperor dared not easily spend the night outside.

He worried that his hometown would be robbed when he left the palace.

"Yawn~"

Emperor Kōtoku sat inside a dumpling, propping his heavy, hangover-induced head up with his hand, muttering to himself in dissatisfaction.

"It's forcing me to have no peace at night. It's time to deal with those tribal chiefs in the area."

"It'll be soon. Once the Silla and Baekje troops withdraw, I'll have to teach them a lesson."

"Let them know that whoever makes me unhappy for a moment will be unhappy for a lifetime."

"Heh heh heh heh!"

The thought of heavenly soldiers descending from the sky and shocking the barbarian chieftains of the country made Emperor Kōtoku hum softly to himself.

After secretly enjoying himself for a long time, he began to happily plan to build a palace by Lake Biwa.

The long procession marched along the pipes, the guards carrying torches, yawning and barely managing to keep their tired eyelids open.

Be vigilant against highway robbers, and don't disturb the sun on the peninsula.

After all, robbers don't care about this or that; when they're desperate, they'll shoot down even the sun.

There are quite a few such vicious criminals even around the capital.

In this awkward atmosphere where they wanted to sleep but dared not, the entire army finally reached the outskirts of Namba Castle.

The roadside grass rustled in the direction the group was traveling.

"who is it?!"

The sentry roused himself and shouted a question.

Whoosh!
The sound of something cutting through the air was like the cry of an owl.

Next came a dull thud as something heavy fell, and then everything fell silent again.

The soldiers looked in the direction from which the strange noise was coming from.

It was a dense forest where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and the ground was covered with snow.

The pitch-black entrance, like the gaping mouth of a monster, let out a howling cold wind that sent chills down one's spine.

"What it is?"

"How about you go take a look?"

"Why me? Why aren't you going?"

This delay caused the palace servants behind to start cursing loudly:
"What's going on up ahead? Are you trying to delay His Majesty's return to the palace to rest?"

The soldiers looked at each other, and finally made a unanimous decision:
"What kind of animal is that?"

"Yes, it must be a raccoon dog sneaking around! We don't need to pay any attention to it!"

The team decisively ignored the anomaly and continued forward.

And in the darkness of the roadside woods.

A Japanese man lay prone on the ground, a tall feathered arrow stuck in his back.

He crawled forward desperately, trying to reach the main road and pass on the information he knew.

However, after climbing only a few steps, a dark figure easily caught up with him and cleanly decapitated the Japanese man.

The snow reflected the faint starlight, which shone on the figure, giving it a faint metallic sheen.

The figure peered through the tree branches for a moment at the procession carrying torches on the main road, then immediately ran back and disappeared into the darkness.

…………

"I took the steel whip and beat him, ha ha..."

Emperor Kōtoku was dozing off, one hand resting on the window sill of the palanquin.

In his half-awake state, a howl shattered his beautiful dream, making him shudder.

He noticed that the convoy had suddenly stopped, and he could hear the panicked shouts of the palace servants outside.

"Huh? Who? What happened?"

He sat up abruptly and reached out to open the window.

However, the window was opened from the outside.

Fujiwara no Kamatari's face suddenly burst in.

"presumptuous!"

Emperor Kōtoku instinctively wanted to punch that big face.

However, before unleashing his powerful punch, he discovered that Fujiwara Kamatari's emotions were quite unstable.

Under the blazing firelight, the face of the most powerful minister beneath him was distorted with fear and astonishment.

"What... happened?"

The Emperor asked in a muffled voice, his speech slightly slurred from a hangover. "Something...something happened!" Fujiwara no Kamatari stammered, his words trembling with fear.

"Of course I know something has happened!"

Emperor Kōtoku finally lost his temper and punched Fujiwara in the face, blasting the window open before climbing out himself.

He sensed something was wrong as soon as he left the cramped sedan chair.

It was already bright outside, and the surrounding scenery was bathed in a fiery red glow.

Did I just take a nap and it's already dawn?

But the sun did not rise, and the sky remained dark.

Everyone, including the sedan chair bearers, palace servants, and soldiers, stared in disbelief in one direction.

South, towards the capital city of Naniwa.

Emperor Kōtoku's heart skipped a beat, and he slowly shifted his gaze over.

fire.

Those were raging flames.

Standing on the mountain and looking down, he couldn't see the buildings of his country's capital at all.

All that could be seen was the endless, burning flames.

The fire was so intense that it even turned the area where he was standing into a blood-red glow.

"Where is my city? Where is my great capital?"

Emperor Kōtoku's lips moved slightly, his face blank, his mind a complete void.

His helpless and flustered appearance was not much different from that of the palace servants beside him.

"What... what's going on?"
"Could it be a fire? That's impossible, how could an accidental fire spread this far..."

In contrast, Fujiwara no Kamatari was more composed and reached a relatively reliable conclusion:

Could it be—

"It was the Soga clan who seized power by setting fire to the capital while His Majesty was away!"

It's somewhat reliable, but not entirely reliable.

"No matter what, we can't go back to Naniwa Castle."

"Retreat to Biwa Lake first!"

With that, he climbed back into the sedan chair.

Although he was terrified, Emperor Kōtoku quickly made a decision when it came to matters concerning his own safety.

Now that things have come to this, and with no idea what dangers lurk ahead, returning to the safe house is the wise choice.

Besides Naniwa Castle, the surrounding provinces of Omi, including the area near the capital and Lake Biwa, are also within his sphere of influence.

It can be used as a temporary refuge.

"Yes...yes! Backwards, backwards!"

Fujiwara no Kamatari answered.

The entire team displayed unprecedented efficiency.

The palanquin bearers carried the Emperor's palanquin and, with the guards clearing the way, ran frantically backward.

"correct!"

After calming himself down a bit, Emperor Kōtoku finally remembered someone, rolled down the carriage window, and asked loudly:
"By the way, where is the Venerable Master Jianzheng?!"

"I...don't know!" Fujiwara Kamatari answered breathlessly as he ran.

Because the sight of Namba Castle burning was so shocking, the honor guard accompanying the Emperor on his outing was in complete disarray.

Many government slaves, servants, and even soldiers deserted their posts and fled into the mountains.

Amidst this chaotic mess, the eminent monk from China was somehow swept away to some unknown corner.

As for his old friend, whose fate was unknown, Emperor Kōtoku simply said "Oh" to indicate that he understood, and then continued to flee for his life.

As the greatest emperor of Japan in history, only his own life mattered.

As for the others, they are nothing but fleeting clouds.

"The despicable Soga clan, they still haven't given up their evil intentions, forcing me to this point..."

"Revenge! Once the samurai of my Yamato Province have secretly withdrawn, the first thing we will do is to wipe out the Soga clan!"

Just as he was plotting his revenge.

Whoosh!
The mournful howling sound was like the cry of an owl.

Immediately afterward, before he could react.

puff!

It sounded like a dull knife cutting meat.

Fujiwara no Kamatari suddenly trembled in front of him.

Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, he fell face down with a thud.

"what?"

Emperor Kōtoku was stunned and instinctively stuck his head out.

His loyal ministers were already lying on the ground, motionless.

A feathered arrow was faintly visible sticking out of the back of his neck.

"..."

The Emperor could hardly believe what he was seeing and desperately craned his neck to get a better look.

Whoosh whoosh!
A series of sharp sounds.

Almost simultaneously, the imperial palanquin carrying the Emperor suddenly lost its balance.

Bang!

With a loud crash, the sedan chair slammed onto the hard ground, lying upside down.

His Majesty the Emperor, who was sitting inside, was also thrown hard onto the floor and spun around several times before stopping.

"Uh……"

Emperor Kōtoku was dazed and confused after being thrown around, and subconsciously touched his forehead.

It was wet and sticky, like the feel of blood, and it hurt so much.

Damn it! Where are my retainers, servants, and slaves?!

Qing, who had always lived a life of luxury, cursed everyone she could in her heart.

But driven by the instinct to survive, he still grumbled and scrambled out of the sedan window.

When he saw the scene outside, his pupils contracted.

The distant capital is still ablaze, turning the world a blood red.

Against a blood-red background, before his eyes.

His retainers, servants, and slaves all lay sprawled on the ground, lifeless.

Their bodies were riddled with countless feathered arrows.

"What... is this...?"

"who is it?!"

He stood up unsteadily, his ears perked up nervously as he listened.

Click, click.

A sound like thunder came from afar, growing louder as death approached.

He is a worldly man.

He could vaguely make out that it sounded like horses' hooves.

But such a dense array of hooves...

Could the Soga clan have amassed such a substantial fortune?
Not to mention the Soga tribe.

I would like to ask the entire Japanese island.

Who could raise so many horses?

In the blink of an eye.

A cavalry unit in black armor appeared before him.

The entire group was clad in jet-black armor, resembling an insurmountable mountain range blocking the path of the Japanese chieftain.

A tall banner fluttered in the wind within the ranks.

Under the glow of the flames, the character "明" (Ming) on ​​the flag shone brightly.

At the head of the procession was a monk with a shiny scalp and wearing a kasaya (Buddhist robe).

"It's you...it's you!"

Emperor Kōtoku was utterly astonished when he saw clearly the monk leading the Ming cavalry.

He knew that person.

He is a master of political judgment.

At this moment, the master had completely lost his usual compassion and peace; his face was full of hatred.

He pointed at the Japanese chieftain and said to the cavalrymen through gritted teeth:
"That bastard! Kill him!"

(End of this chapter)