Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 288: Turning the Emperor into a pig and breaking the spine of the Japanese!
Of course, although Zhao Shuo had already assigned the generals the task of attacking, there was no need to attack the city immediately.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. No matter how weak the defenses of Heian-kyo (Kyoto) are, it is still a large city with a population of one million. The Han army needs to build siege equipment that can be completed in seven days.

Seven days later, a final assault will be launched on Heian-kyo.

Furthermore, the longer the siege lasts, the more severe the famine in Heian-kyo will become, and the plague will continue to rage, making Heian-kyo's resistance only weaker.

However, Zhao Shuo's army also faced logistical challenges, so there was no need to wait indefinitely.

……

……

"What a magnificent Heian-kyo! The Japanese must have put in a great deal of effort to build this city more than 500 years ago."

Seven days later, Zhao Shuo stood on the command platform and looked towards Heian-kyo. He saw that the city was straight and orderly, with its markets and wards arranged like a chessboard. It was practically a miniature version of Luoyang, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Of course, Zhao Shuo felt no regret at all about destroying such a magnificent and beautiful city now.

More than seven hundred years later, Zhao Shuo had not forgotten everything the Japanese had done in China, and everything they had done in Nanjing.

They cut open the abdomen and heart, forced relatives to engage in incest, and even pregnant women and infants were not spared.

In comparison, Zhao Shuo only killed people, which was already considered much more merciful. It's just that the number of people killed was more than in Nanjing.

One million three hundred thousand!

"let's start."

Zhao Shuo pointed his Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade forward, issuing the order to destroy Heian-kyo.

"Yes!"

Boom boom boom!
The war drums thundered!
Swish swish!
The command flags fluttered on the platform!

Boom boom boom!
The Han army's long-range weapons have proven their worth!

Seven and a half pounds of stones rained down on the earthen wall of the Japanese.

One after another, arrows pierced by spears and three by swords, carrying the whistling sound of death, hurtled towards the city walls and soldiers of Fusang.

Thunderclaps exploded. Some blasted the Japanese to pieces, while others ignited the timber and oil cauldrons on the city walls. In no time, smoke filled the air, engulfing all four walls of Heian-kyo.

"Charge! Kill!"

"The first twelve to ascend will be rewarded with two promising futures!"

"Record the heads of the dead, brothers, kill them!"

"Conquer Heian-kyo and slaughter all the Japanese!"

……

The Han soldiers roared and charged towards Heian-kyo, carrying ladders and pushing battering rams.

Mijiang was completely stunned by the frying.

He watched helplessly as one of his comrades was pinned to the ground by a crossbow bolt shaped like a spear from the Han army, less than a foot away from him!
He witnessed a stone hit one of his companions on the head, and the companion fell off the earthen wall without even uttering a sound!
Even more terrifying were the terrifying weapons of the Han army that emitted tremendous sounds and lights.

No matter how valiant a warrior is, if he's nearby, he'll be blown away on the spot. He was even grazed on one side of his face by a fragment of a flying thunderbolt, and blood dripped down his cheek.

These days, Mi-chan has melted down the knife she bought and forged it into a spearhead. The Japanese are good at learning; they have realized that for ordinary soldiers, a spear is much more effective than a sword on the battlefield.

Mi Jiang had already trained with this spear many times, and had even imagined countless times the scene of her spear piercing the chest of a Han soldier and making a name for herself in battle.

However, he now realizes that the real war is completely different from the war he had imagined.

Cold, cruel, and bloody, it can take lives at any moment.

With this long spear and this tattered leather armor, can he really deal with those Han soldiers who are clad in iron armor?
It works!
It will definitely work!

The Shimazu brothers had told them that the Han Chinese warhorses were too powerful, so the Japanese were no match for the Han army in open field battles. The Han army also possessed formidable ranged weapons, and they might suffer some losses at the beginning of the siege.

However, when it came to close combat during the defense of the city, the Japanese warriors' courage and bravery were enough to make up for their lack of equipment.

"Hold on... Hold on! We must hold off the Han army and be loyal to the Emperor!"

Mijiang gripped the spear tightly, constantly encouraging herself.

When he saw a group of Han soldiers climbing the city wall not far away, he ran forward to reinforce them.

"kill!"

With all her might, Mi Jiang thrust her sword toward the left rib of a Han soldier!

However, although the armored warrior noticed Mi-chan's attack, he continued to thrust his spear at the samurai in front of him without even dodging.

How sharp can a spearhead hastily forged from inferior iron be? And how much strength does Mi-chan, who is short and thin like a monkey, possess?

when!
A clang of metal clashing rang out, and the Han soldier, without changing his stance, thrust his weapon straight into the abdomen of the warrior before him.

Then, with a backhand thrust, he pierced Mi-chan's heart!

His movements were too fast; Mi-chan didn't even have a chance to thrust out a second time or parry. Mi-chan's tattered leather armor was as fragile as paper against that sharp spear.

"what!"

Mijiang let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, feeling a sharp pain in her chest and her strength rapidly draining away.

Am I going to die?
So easy?

Didn't they say that as long as we were willing to fight desperately, we could defeat the Han army?
Shit!

Even if I risked my life, I couldn't break through the Han army's iron armor! The gap between the two sides, whether in weapons, armor, or combat strength, simply cannot be bridged by mere blood and courage!
The Shimazu brothers lied to me!
Perhaps, the Emperor is a fraud too!

The Emperor's ancestors deceived the Japanese, worshipping them as gods. Now, the Emperor is deceiving all the Japanese, making them willing to die to protect him!

Of course, what Mi-chan was thinking before she died is no longer important.

It was Liu Zheng who killed Mi Jiang.

Liu Zheng felt no emotion whatsoever at killing a mere Japanese soldier.

He simply shouted, "Quick! Quick! Quick! Follow me down the city wall, capture the Japanese emperor, and become a hero who vanquishes the Japanese pirates!"

Originally, each of the eight banners of the Han army had four people specifically responsible for beheading soldiers to record their merits.

However, this time Meng Gong made a change in order to make the greatest contribution to the fall of Heian-kyo.

Within Liu Zheng's vanguard commandery, the four men in each centurion's unit were only recorded for their merits, not beheaded. The task of beheading them was left to the follow-up troops.

Liu Zheng, the commander of a thousand households, must rush to the palace as quickly as possible, capture the Japanese emperor, and ensure he obtains the title of "Hero Who Suppresses the Japanese Pirates." As for the title of "Vanguard in Pacifying the Japanese Pirates," it will depend on the number of heads each commander of ten thousand households can achieve; whether they can obtain it will be entirely up to luck.
"Capture the Japanese emperor and become a hero who vanquishes the Japanese pirates!"

Nearly a thousand soldiers followed Liu Zheng down the city wall and marched along Zhuque Avenue toward the Fusang Imperial Palace.

Meng Gong led the follow-up troops, reaping heads from behind.

"To be loyal to the Emperor!"

"Kill the Han army, protect Japan!"

"Protect the Emperor!"

……

Countless Japanese warriors and soldiers, armed with swords and spears, and even countless women and elderly people wielding wooden sticks and kitchen knives, attacked Liu Zheng's direction, hindering his advance.

Although the Fusang army was not as strong as the Han army, they were still fighting like cornered beasts and caused Liu Zheng a lot of trouble.

With each step they took, they had to step over the corpse of a Japanese person. Their own casualties were also gradually increasing.

Seeing that Liu Zheng's momentum had been thwarted, Meng Gong made a decisive move, leading a commander to step forward and replace Liu Zheng's commander.

After Meng Gong's military strength was dulled, he was replaced by a thousand-household commander led by Zhang Jun.

After Zhang Jun's military prowess diminished, Liu Zheng took over again...

Kill kill kill!

Kill, kill, kill!
All who obstruct me shall be executed!
Meng Gong's three commanders advanced like waves, always maintaining their sharpest edge.

Shouts of battle filled the streets of Suzaku, a cacophony of clashing weapons and screams. Blood not only stained the ground but also flowed like streams in the crevices!
Just how many Japanese people did he personally kill?
Seventy? Eighty? Or one hundred?
Meng Gong himself couldn't remember exactly how many times he had led the charge; he only knew that this was the fourth time he had done so. The lances fitted with Damascus steel had become dull due to the excessive use of spikes. The lance he was currently wielding was the third one he had replaced.

at last!

wow~
The Japanese people in front of Meng Gong receded like a tide, revealing a group of dozens of Japanese nobles.

The leader appeared to be in his early twenties, short in stature like an ordinary Japanese person, with a deathly pale face, whether from long periods of seclusion or from being intimidated by the might of the Han army.

"Stop killing! Stop killing!"

Seeing the Han soldiers nearby, he immediately led the Japanese nobles to kneel, holding a tray in his hand, and loudly proclaimed in Chinese, "I am Fujiwara no Yoritsune, the Great General of the Expedition to the West! I surrender! We are willing to surrender! The Three Sacred Treasures of Japan are here, and the Emperor of Japan is here! Please spare our lives!" Meng Gong was not interested in the Great General of the Expedition to the West or the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan.

He stepped forward, protected by a group of armored soldiers, and shouted, "Where is your so-called Emperor now?"

"right here!"

Fujiwara no Yoritsune waved his hand behind him, and a Japanese man wearing a black lacquered crown, a yellow-dyed robe, and a rag stuffed in his mouth was pushed out, bound hand and foot.

Fujiwara no Yoritsune proclaimed loudly, "He is Emperor Go-Saga! Originally, Emperor Go-Saga intended to immolate himself in the palace, disappearing without a trace. In this way, he would make the Japanese people believe that the emperor was a god, not a human, and escape through mysterious means. One day, the emperor will reappear and lead the loyal warriors to revive Japan."

"But I didn't want to die! I joined forces with some civil and military officials, launched a palace coup, and captured him alive!"

Meng Gong frowned slightly and said, "How can you make me believe that he is the Emperor of Japan?"

"General, you are wise!"

Fujiwara no Yoritsune said, "Your army has already surrounded Heian-kyo on all sides. Without your permission, who could survive? It's pointless for us to find someone to impersonate Emperor Go-Saga!"

"Hmph, that's not necessarily true!"

Meng Gong waved his hand and said, "Zhang Jun, Liu Zheng!"

"exist!"

"Lead your commanders and seize the Japanese Imperial Palace! Search every suspicious place, leave no one alive!"

"Yes!"

Better safe than sorry, Meng Gong made careful arrangements.

However, he was about 70-80% certain that the Japanese man in front of him, dressed in a yellow-dyed robe, was Emperor Go-Saga of Japan.

……

……

The entire battle in Heian-kyo ended in less than two days.

Firstly, Zhao Shuo's army for attacking the city exceeded 200,000, roughly the same number as the able-bodied men in the city.

Secondly, Fujiwara no Yoritsune's surrender and the subsequent capture of Emperor Saga greatly dampened the morale of the Japanese army.

Thirdly, the attack on various residences by the Han army with thunderbolts triggered a massive fire.

The structure of houses in Japan is very different from that on the mainland. They are mainly made of wood and are virtually defenseless against fire.

More than fifty years ago, an accidental fire destroyed a third of the houses in Heian-kyo, let alone now.

Those Japanese who hoped to resist the Han army by hiding in their homes either got burned alive or rushed out of the fire to their deaths; they had no other choice.

Two days later, the entire Heian-kyo had been burned to the ground.

Inside Zhao Shuo's central command tent.

"Bring it up!"

"Yes!"

At Zhao Shuo's command, Emperor Go-Saga of Japan was bound hand and foot and escorted into the main tent.

Kneel! Kneel down!

dong dong!

The armored soldiers behind him kicked Emperor Go-Saga twice hard in the back of his knees.

Pfft!
Although Emperor Go-Saga had no choice but to kneel, he tried his best to keep his back straight and had a cold smile on his face.

Zhao Shuo looked at Emperor Go-Saga with amusement and said, "Go-Saga, it seems you're quite dissatisfied!"

"I just won't accept it!"

Emperor Go-Saga had originally planned to immolate himself to boost the morale of the Japanese, so he naturally had no intention of begging Zhao Shuo for mercy at this time.

He snorted coldly and said, "I am a descendant of Amaterasu, destined to rule Fusang. Although the gods of the western land of sunset are powerful and suppress Amaterasu, even if I die, I will simply return to Amaterasu's divine kingdom. One day, I will be reborn in Fusang and rule over the millions of people of Fusang once again."

"Really?"

Zhao Shuo looked at the generals in the main tent and said, "This Japanese emperor has quite a backbone! What do you think I should do with him?"

"The wooden donkey punishment! What kind of emperor is this, subjecting him to the greatest humiliation a man can suffer!"

"Skin him alive! Let's see if he'll still have the same backbone after he's been skinned alive!"

"To be torn to pieces and publicly executed! Let's see how many cuts he takes before he begs for mercy. Let's see if he's a god among men, or just a mortal!"

……

The generals, of course, knew this. What Zhao Shuo wanted was not merely how to manipulate the Japanese emperor, but how to use the emperor to destroy the faith of the Japanese people, and they all spoke up.

Emperor Go-Saga remained unfazed, raising his head high and declaring, "Do as you please! I have long been prepared to die for Japan! If you kill me, you will insult the faith of all Japanese people, incite their anger, and you will never truly gain Japan!"

"Very good, that's principled, I like it."

Zhao Shuo said, "Since that's the case, I won't kill you."

"What? You...you won't kill me?" Emperor Go-Saga was utterly astonished. "Do you intend to bestow upon me some kind of kingship and have me appease the Japanese on your behalf?"

"You're dreaming."

As he spoke, Zhao Shuo stood up and slowly walked toward Emperor Saga.

"What...what do you want to do?" An extremely ominous premonition surged into Emperor Go-Saga's heart.

"What are you doing? Have you ever heard of a human pig from China? I'm going to cut you into a human pig, soak you in a vat, and let you be immersed in excrement and urine every day. I'll raise you on the ruins of the temple in Heian-kyo, so that Amaterasu Omikami will shine on you every day, and the people of Japan will watch you! Let them see that this is the emperor of an unbroken imperial line!"

"No! You can't do this!"

"I surrender! I surrender, isn't that enough?"

"Kill me! Kill me!"

"Your Majesty, have mercy! Your Majesty, have mercy!"

……

Emperor Go-Saga spoke fluent Chinese and had certainly heard of the legend of the "human pig." He could endure being torn to pieces, but he could not bear the living hell of being soaked in excrement day and night!

He already regretted it; why had he provoked Zhao Shuo inside the central command tent?
He has already begged for mercy!
However, it was far too late by then!
Swish!
With a flash of cold light, the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade was drawn.

Ka!

Ka!

Ka!

Ka!

With four crisp cracking sounds, Emperor Go-Saga's limbs were severed cleanly by Zhao Shuo!

"what!"

Emperor Go-Saga only had time to let out a scream before he fainted from the pain, blood gushing out from the cuts in his limbs!

Zhao Shuo said, "Someone come here!"

"exist!"

Zhao Shuo said, "Take him out, cut off his ears and nose, and gouge out his eyes! Finally, put him in a jar, soak him in excrement and urine, and place him on the ruins of the temple."

"Yes!"

Samurai dragged Emperor Go-Saga, who had been reduced to a "human pig," away.

Of course, Emperor Go-Saga, confined to the inner palace for a long time, expected to suffer a prolonged period of misery. Zhao Shuo, however, understood that with the medical technology of that era, let alone severing all four limbs, the chances of survival after severing even one limb were slim. Not to mention, the wound would be contaminated with excrement and urine.

it's fine.

Who knows how long Emperor Go-Saga actually lived?
The Japanese will only see the corpse of Emperor Go-Saga, soaked in excrement and urine, in the temple's will.

What was the reaction of Amaterasu, the so-called Emperor of Fusang, to this great humiliation?

What kind of living deity has an unbroken lineage for all eternity?
The Emperor of Fusang was nothing but a useless piece of trash who couldn't even protect himself.

This move will surely shatter the Japanese people's faith in the Emperor!

(End of this chapter)