Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

At 7:45 PM, night had completely fallen in Kyoto.

But I can't sleep tonight.

Inside the golden-roofed palace, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was still slumped in the main seat, where Zhu Xi was now sitting, munching on a rice ball he had found in the Japanese imperial kitchen.

"This rice is alright, but it doesn't have much flavor. Wife, you should try it." Zhu Li chewed a couple of bites and handed it to Guanyin Nu next to her.

Guanyin Nu took it, took a small bite, nodded, and said, "It's softer than the barley from the grasslands."

Li Wenzhong stood in the center of the hall, his hand on the hilt of his sword, staring at the Japanese civil and military officials kneeling all over the ground.

Five thousand Imperial Guards had completely surrounded the palace, and twelve flying boats hovered above the capital, their psionic cannons aimed at key locations throughout the city.

"Your Highness... what should we do with these prisoners?" Li Wenzhong turned around and asked in a cold voice.

Zhu Zhi stuffed the last mouthful of rice into his mouth and mumbled, "My elder brother said that all men taller than a cartwheel should be cut down, and the women should be taken back."

"Wheels..." Li Wenzhong looked outside the hall, "What kind of vehicle should we use? A horse-drawn carriage... an oxcart... or one of those small handcarts like the Japanese?"

Zhu Hui scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then said, "Then let's use a horse-drawn carriage! My elder brother said we need people to help with the mining!"

Li Wenzhong smiled, a smile that sent chills down the spines of the kneeling Japanese officials.

"Understood, sir. Issue the order: the Imperial Guards shall be divided into fifty teams of one hundred men each, and search house to house. For men, measure their height, and those who cross the wheels of a cart shall be executed."

"Women, those who are presentable... escort the flying boat; children... those shorter than the wheels of the vehicle, gather them together and keep them under guard." He turned and gave the order to his deputy.

"Yes!" The lieutenant clasped his hands in a fist salute and strode out of the hall.

A suppressed sob echoed from inside the hall.

An elderly official, trembling, looked up and said in broken Chinese, "The Great Ming... the Celestial Empire... a righteous army... how could it do this..."

Li Wenzhong walked over, squatted down, and looked at him: "Old man, what's your name?"

"Your subject... Ashikaga Yoshimochi, the shogun's younger brother..." the old minister said in a trembling voice.

"Oh, a relative! Then you can be the first one and set an example for everyone." Li Wenzhong grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

He stood up, waved his hand, and said, "Drag him out and measure his height."

Two Imperial Guards stepped forward and supported Ashikaga Yoshimochi.

The old man struggled and cried out, "General! General, save me!"

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes vacant, motionless.

The Imperial Guards dragged Ashikaga Yoshimochi to the plaza outside the palace, where a carriage found on the street was already placed. It was a standard two-wheeled carriage from the Central Plains, with wheels three feet and two inches high.

"Hold him down," Li Wenzhong said coldly as he followed out.

The Imperial Guards pressed Ashikaga Yoshimochi down beside the wheel.

The old man was at most five feet tall, but Japanese people are generally short, so this measurement...

The wheel was above his head, and even higher.

"That's enough," Li Wenzhong said calmly.

A flash of light.

Heads fell to the ground.

Blood splattered on the wheel and flowed down the spokes.

The hall was deathly silent.

Then a terrified scream erupted.

Li Wenzhong walked back into the hall, his boots leaving a trail of red marks on the bloodstains.

He scanned the room and said, "Next, line up yourselves. Don't make me grab them one by one."

Nobody moved.

Li Wenzhong frowned, pointed to the nearest middle-aged military officer, and said, "You, come out."

The military commander broke down, wailing and shouting in Japanese.

"What did he say?" Li Wenzhong asked the translator beside him.

The translator, his face pale, said, "He said... he said he has an elderly mother, wife, and children at home..."

Li Wenzhong laughed: "Tell him that if his mother, wife, and children are still of decent appearance, they can live."

The translator's voice trembled as he translated.

The military officer froze, then pounced on Li Wenzhong like a madman.

But before he could even get close, he was hacked to death by the Imperial Guards.

"No need to measure anymore, this has been calculated, let's continue," Li Wenzhong said, shaking the blood off his knife.

The massacre began.

The Imperial Guards were very efficient.

They split into two groups: one group dealt with the officials on the spot inside the palace, and the other group went into the city to carry out the search warrant.

Zhu Li sat in the main seat, watching one Japanese official after another being dragged out and beheaded. He scratched his head and said, "General Li, isn't this too many?"

Li Wenzhong was wiping his sword when he heard this. He looked up and said, "Your Highness, this is just the beginning. There are at least two hundred thousand men in the capital. That's enough to kill for several days."

"Oh! Wife, why don't we go to the back hall and take a look? The smell of blood is strong here." Zhu Li stopped asking and turned to Guanyin Nu.

Guanyin Nu's face was also somewhat pale.

Although she grew up on the grasslands and had witnessed killing, this kind of systematic massacre was something she had never seen before.

"Husband...do you really have to kill so many people?" she asked softly.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Hui said, "Father said that the Japanese are bad. They used to rob our coast and kill our people. My elder brother said that this time we must kill them to make them submit, so that they will not dare to rebel in the future."

"But..." Guanyin Nu looked outside the hall and saw another official being cut down.

"Wife, if you can't stand it, let's go for a walk." Zhu Li stood up and pulled Guanyin Nu towards the back hall.

Li Wenzhong shouted from behind, "Your Highness, be careful of an ambush!"

"It's nothing, there's nothing I can do about ambushing you with an axe." Zhu Li didn't even turn his head.

……

The rear hall was Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's bedroom, and it was decorated very luxuriously. The screen was painted with cherry blossoms in gold powder, and the tatami mats were covered with white tiger skin.

Zhu Hui kicked the white tiger skin and said, "This thing isn't as good as the tiger skin from Changbai Mountain."

Guanyin Nu walked to the window and opened it.

Outside is the palace's inner courtyard, with artificial hills and ponds, and several cherry blossom trees that have not yet bloomed.

In the darkness, one could hear cries, pleas for mercy, and the sound of knives slicing into flesh coming from the distant streets and alleys.

There was also the sound of flames burning... Some Japanese people resisted, and the Imperial Guards set the house on fire.

"My lord, did my brother... also kill Han people like this back then?" Guanyin Nu suddenly asked.

Zhu Hui paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know, but Uncle Xu said that's how war is: you kill me, I kill you."

"But we've already won, the general is captured..."

"My elder brother said that if we win, we should kill even more, kill until they are afraid, kill until their descendants for three generations don't dare to rebel. I think my elder brother is right, otherwise we'll have to fight again, which will be even more troublesome."

Zhu Hui repeated Zhu Biao's words, paused, and then said.

Guanyin Nu remained silent.

She recalled the tribal wars on the grasslands, where the victors would slaughter the men of the opposing side and abduct women and children.

It turns out that the Han Chinese and the Mongols were not much different in this matter.

No, they are still different.

The Han people are more...systematic.

They used height measurement, the efficiency of squads, and the overwhelming force of airships and psionic cannons.

This is a massacre of civilization.

"Wife, are you unhappy?" Zhu Li walked to her side and asked in a simple and honest manner.

Guanyin Nu shook her head, leaned on his shoulder and said, "No, it's just... it's the first time we've met, I'm a little uncomfortable."

"Then let's not look, let's go to sleep." Zhu Li pulled her to the tatami mat, lifted the white tiger skin, and laid out soft silk bedding underneath.

He lay down, patted the person next to him, and said, "Come on, go to sleep. You'll be fine when you wake up."

Guanyin Nu looked at his matter-of-fact attitude and suddenly laughed.

Yes! This man doesn't care about any massacres or anything like that; he just completed the task assigned by his elder brother and now it's time for him to sleep.

She lay down, resting her head on his arm.

Firelight flickered outside the window, and cries could be faintly heard.

But Zhu Li really did fall asleep very quickly, her breathing even.

Guanyin Nu stared at him with her eyes open for a long time before finally closing them.