Chapter 680: The Japanese Emperor's Defeat and Surrender (Happy New Year!)

The two brothers did not have to wait long; the gunfire outside quickly died down. Clearly, the Ming army had already pushed through.

The two crawled out of the building and immediately spotted Sun Chuanting and the others.

But before they could speak, a hail of bullets flew toward them, dense as popping beans.

Zheng Zhilong broke out in cold sweat and immediately dragged his younger brother behind cover. Before they could poke their heads out, a crowd surrounded them.

Fortunately, the men who arrived recognized Zheng Zhilong; otherwise, they would likely have been shot in the head.

Zheng Zhilong hurried forward to state his identity, and was then brought before Sun Chuanting.

Glancing at Zheng Zhilong, Sun Chuanting said with a smile, "You two are quite at ease."

"Greetings, Lord Sun," the Zheng brothers said hastily.

"Enough. Since we've met here, come along with me," Sun Chuanting said with a nod and a kindly expression.

"Yes, my lord." The two answered in unison and walked forward together with Sun Chuanting.

By this time, the battle was already drawing to a close; there were basically no major problems left in this fight. The inner city was shrouded in rolling smoke and dust, a scene of utter devastation.

The Great Ming army had seized the commanding heights of the palace walls, sealing off every road and intersection with firepower.

The Japanese Emperor's personal guard charged again and again in waves, heedless of losses—one batch fell, and a second took its place. Though more than half their men and horses were lost, they still could not approach the palace walls. Pinned down by Ming firepower, their entire formation was on the defensive, suffering heavy casualties, until at last their commanders led them in retreat into the main hall, where they put up a desperate last stand.

The Great Ming army pressed the attack in pursuit, cutting down isolated Japanese soldiers with blades and clubbing them with rifle butts. After clearing the area before the hall, they prepared to storm the main hall.

"Listen, you people in the hall! You are completely surrounded! Drop your weapons and surrender at once!" A Japanese man in the Ming army stepped forward to call out, attempting to persuade them to yield.

A ronin gripping a katana burst out of the hall doors. "Long live the Emperor! Whoever dares offend the Emperor shall be slain without mercy!"

Bang! A bullet flew from not far away, entering through the ronin's left ear and exiting through the lower ear. He collapsed on the steps, blood streaming down the stone stairs.

"Long live the Emperor! Kill!" More Japanese charged out of the main hall, gnashing their teeth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunsmoke hung thick before the hall; human cries intermingled. The dead lay still and silent, while the wounded wailed without end.

The commander of the Emperor's personal guard inside the hall counted his remaining men, preparing to organize the shattered army for a breakout. Yet of the ten-thousand-strong guard, only a scant hundred or so remained, and of those, only a few dozen could still fight—most of them wounded. The rest were trembling civil officials without the strength to truss a chicken, gripping their weapons in sheer terror.

"I have led troops for decades and fought over a hundred battles, large and small—never have I suffered a more disgraceful defeat than today!" Feeling he had no face left to command men in further battle, he was seized by grief and fury. Drawing his katana, he moved to kill himself. "I shall repay His Majesty the Emperor's kindness in recognizing me with my hot blood and my life!"

The Emperor snatched the sword from his hand and urged him, "The Ming army holds the advantage in firepower. You have done your duty to the fullest—this is not your fault. Preserve what remains of our forces, and the day of vengeance will surely come!"

Soon, word arrived from the front: the great army had breached the Emperor's palace. With no road left to flee, the Japanese Emperor surrendered unconditionally.

A smile appeared on Sun Chuanting's face. This battle could be considered passed.

"Come, let's go take a look." Sun Chuanting looked at Qi Yuanbi and said.

"Yes, Marshal." Qi Yuanbi acknowledged and followed Sun Chuanting forward.

Everything remaining was trivial—the subordinates could handle it, and there was basically nothing left for them to worry about. After fighting for so long, the men all knew what to do. There was a well-established procedure for this; they needed no oversight.

The group soon arrived outside the Emperor's palace. It was already unrecognizable: ancient trees several arm-spans around had been blasted up by the roots; where pavilions and towers once stood, the ground lay bare as if plowed over; before the main hall, Japanese corpses were piled up like a mountain.

Though the Japanese Emperor had been captured, he held his back as straight as he could, his expression calm and unruffled. Besides the Emperor, many others had also been taken prisoner.

After one glance, Sun Chuanting said, "Aside from the Emperor's family, kill the rest. A pack of traitors and rebels—keeping them alive would only waste grain."

No one on the Ming side said anything; they were already used to this.

Only the Zheng brothers felt a chill of fear. They exchanged a glance but dared not speak. Naturally, they would not plead for the Japanese, but their hearts were filled with even greater dread.

The Japanese Emperor was about to ask a question when a gunshot suddenly rang out at his ear. He whirled around—one of his staff officers had fallen into a pool of blood. Before he could speak, a volley of gunfire erupted, and all his staff officers lay dead.

With the killing done, what remained was pacification, and there was naturally no problem in that regard.

Sun Chuanting glanced at Qi Yuanbi and said with a smile, "You can write a routine memorial and send it to the capital. I imagine His Majesty has been waiting for us."

"Yes, Marshal." Qi Yuanbi acknowledged, a smile spreading across his face as well.

After this battle, at last they could pause for a moment. They had been toiling and bustling for so long that both body and mind were exhausted—a rest now would do them good.

Meanwhile, in the capital, at Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao flipped through the memorial in his hands, a satisfied look on his face.

Since half a year ago, the Great Ming's military reform had already begun. Though it had encountered some setbacks, overall it had gone smoothly.

After all, with Zhu Youxiao's current authority, no one dared to cause trouble anymore. The transition at court had been very stable; everyone was following Zhu Youxiao's pace.

With the court united as one, those below had no way to stir up mischief.

The Great Ming was now very peaceful, with no disturbances. Those who wanted to do something found nothing to exploit, so everything progressed smoothly.

Abolishing the hereditary military household system and distributing land to military households was a good thing for the households at the bottom.

Changing from the hereditary military household system to recruited soldiers and establishing new military districts was a slow, painstaking task requiring patience. Progress over these six months had not been fast, but Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied.

Standing up, he stretched and loosened his muscles and bones, then said to Wei Chao beside him, "Things have been going well lately. Issue an edict commending the Staff Office."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao hurriedly acknowledged.

After giving the order, Zhu Youxiao walked toward the rear.

With court affairs settled, what came next was simple—he could finally rest a bit. Since transmigrating here, he had been busy for so many years without ever taking a proper rest. This rest was not physical but mental. With the Great Ming having reached its current state, he could finally relax somewhat.

Turning to look at Wei Chao, Zhu Youxiao asked, "What is the Empress doing right now?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress is flying kites with the Prince." Wei Chao answered from the side.

"Is that so?" Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao brightened with joy and said, "Let's go take a look—we can fly kites with them too."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wei Chao acknowledged hastily, turned, and led the way.

When word of Japan's defeat and surrender spread, the entire Great Ming—court and commoners alike—rejoiced. Newsboys shouted in the streets: "Long live! Long live! We've won!"

The common people flooded into the streets, spreading the news to one another and celebrating the victory. Street vendors hurled basketfuls of red dates and melons into the crowd, laughing and shouting, "Hahaha! We've won! The fruit's on me!"

In the shops, sweets, candied fruits, aged wine, red candles, lanterns, firecrackers, and other festive goods were snapped up clean. The shopkeepers didn't care about profit or loss—they took whatever was offered, their hearts set on cheering the victory.

The Great Ming had finally washed away the shame of the Battle of Sarhu! Japan was no longer the demonic shadow weighing on their hearts!

North and south of the great river, drums and gongs thundered day and night; in great cities and small towns alike, the streets were emptied as everyone poured out, suffused with joy.

Joseon, Hanseong.

Zhang Yu strolled through the streets with Song Xiang.

Hanseong had been quite prosperous lately. Although there was fighting against the Wa outside and news of casualties came from time to time, there were no shortage of benefits either.

Ming merchants were everywhere, making this city exceptionally prosperous. But some of these things were only on the surface—the lives of ordinary commoners had not actually improved, and had even grown harder.

But none of this had anything to do with Zhang Yu. After working so hard for so long, it was rare to get out and enjoy himself.

Walking down the main street with Song Xiang, buying things here and there, strolling about—for them, this was a rare moment of leisure.

"What do you think of this pearl hairpin?" Song Xiang held a pearl hairpin in her hand, looking at Zhang Yu with a smile as she asked.

"Not bad. If you like it, buy it." Zhang Yu agreed with a smile from the side.

These days, given their status, the two naturally lacked for money; buying such things took no effort at all. Zhang Yu didn't want to dwell on this topic with Song Xiang—since she liked it, then buy it.

Song Xiang shot Zhang Yu a glare and ignored him, but she still had the shopkeeper wrap up the pearl hairpin, preparing to take it back.

This man simply had no sense of romance. But Song Xiang also understood that gold is not pure and no man is perfect—a perfect man simply did not exist in this world.

It was impossible for someone to excel in every aspect. His greatest strength might precisely be his greatest weakness. If a person had perfect rationality and strong logic, then he would inevitably lack emotion and romance in his actions; if a person was very emotional and romantic, then his actions would certainly lack method and logic.

These were all relative. In certain respects, the strongest was the weakest, and the weakest was the strongest.

Weakness was strength, and strength was weakness. So Song Xiang didn't hold it against Zhang Yu.

After paying the shopkeeper, Song Xiang turned back to look at Zhang Yu and found him staring intently in one direction.

Song Xiang wasn't angry that he wasn't paying attention to her. She understood that if Zhang Yu was looking over there, something major must be happening—something far more important than paying attention to her.

Song Xiang moved closer and asked, "What are you looking at? Did something happen over there?"

"Done shopping?" Zhang Yu looked at Song Xiang and said with a smile, "Come here, let me put it on for you."

Song Xiang shot Zhang Yu another glare, but still opened the hairpin box and placed it in Zhang Yu's hand.

This man's way of being romantic was somewhat clumsy, but Song Xiang enjoyed it. He clearly wasn't good at these things, yet he was willing to do them for her.

Even when he sometimes did it poorly, Song Xiang was still happy. This showed that Zhang Yu valued her and cared about her—otherwise, he wouldn't bother doing these things at all.

Zhang Yu took the pearl hairpin and gently inserted it into Song Xiang's hair, saying, "Very beautiful."

Song Xiang nodded and said with a smile, "The hairpin is on now. Can you tell me what's happening over there?"

"Nothing major. Zheng Xuhong is leading people to confiscate a household's property." Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"That's the seventh one this month, isn't it?" Song Xiang said softly from the side. "I never expected this Kim Jeong-min to be so ruthless—far more than us."

"They're all old hands at factional strife. Once it started, they didn't need our help." Zhang Yu said casually. "Things also went as I predicted. They started investigating Zhang Fu's affairs from the periphery, and the results came out. After all, those were facts. Once the facts were confirmed, it became much easier to drag others down with accusations."

Song Xiang nodded.

Everything Zhang Yu said was true. Those matters were real, and so the evidence was naturally real as well. Apart from Zhang Fu's letters, everything else was flawless. Whether it was Zhang Fu's son or his brother-in-law, they had genuinely been dragged into the mire.

The Ming side had been laying the groundwork from very early on—they were also involved in the slave trade. A large portion of those who were bought and sold eventually passed through many hands and ended up with Ming people. Everything was real; all Zhang Yu did was connect these matters to Zhang Fu.

Since it was true to begin with, and Zhang Fu's son and brother-in-law had both participated, the matter became even easier to handle. Making Zhang Fu bear responsibility was no problem at all.

"How is that Joseon official doing?" Zhang Yu looked at Song Xiang and asked. "There won't be any problems, will there?"

There was a very critical figure in the entire plan—an official from Joseon's Ministry of Justice. It was precisely because of his cooperation that the business had gone so smoothly.

But that official had known nothing from start to finish. With Zhang Fu's brother-in-law and son handling things, he simply assumed it was Zhang Fu behind it all.

There was no need to worry about that aspect at all. His testimony could only drag Zhang Fu down—this was what they called having both witnesses and evidence.

"No problem. All the loose ends have been cut." Song Xiang shook her head and said, "They'll probably arrest him within the next couple of days."

"Keep an eye on him. Don't let him cause trouble." Zhang Yu said with a smile. "As long as nothing happens to this man, there shouldn't be any problems at all."

"I understand." Song Xiang nodded. "But have you looked enough? You're supposed to be accompanying me out for fun today—how did we get back to this topic again? Can we not talk about this? Let's just enjoy ourselves."

"Of course, no problem." Zhang Yu nodded. "I heard there's a new Ming restaurant up ahead. Let's go check it out. Apparently they make excellent Yangzhou cuisine. Let's go try it and see if it's authentic. If it is, we'll become regulars."

Song Xiang said with a smile, "Perfect. I haven't had hometown food in a long time. Let's see if they can satisfy my cravings. If the food is good, we'll come often in the future."

Neither of them brought up official matters again. Chatting and laughing, they headed toward the restaurant ahead, ready to have their meal.

Not far away, Zheng Xuhong also withdrew his gaze.

Zhang Yu had seen him, and naturally he had seen Zhang Yu as well.

Ever since Ming and Joseon had jointly dispatched troops, these matters had never ceased. Zheng Xuhong was also feeling restless inside. Given this state of mind, it wasn't suitable for making small talk, so he didn't go over.

Kim Jeong-min walked out from inside at that moment, glanced at Zheng Xuhong, and said, "Lord Zheng has been staring over there for quite a while. Did you discover something?"

"No." Zheng Xuhong shook his head. "I just saw an acquaintance. I might have been mistaken as well."

"Is that so?" Kim Jeong-min smiled and said nothing more.

That kind of talk could only fool a fool.

Glancing at Zheng Xuhong, Kim Jeong-min said, "Are we done here? Shouldn't we be heading to the Ministry of Justice office?"

"Has it been confirmed?" Zheng Xuhong looked at Kim Jeong-min and asked in a low voice.

"Confirmed." Kim Jeong-min nodded. "The gold, silver, and jewels in his house have also been seized—quite a few fine things. You'll see for yourself in a moment. This man is in no way innocent. Let's go make the arrest."

"Very well." Zheng Xuhong had no choice but to agree, following Kim Jeong-min to the next house.

Two hours later, the Joseon royal palace.

The Joseon king's days had not been good lately—the main issue being the struggle for power.

Recently, the elders faction could be said to be stirring restlessly, charging forward as if pumped full of stimulant. The young officials' faction had been thrown into complete disarray by the Zhang Fu affair, extremely passive.

Now the cases were being investigated more and more, the evidence was growing, and more and more people were being implicated. The Joseon king's mood grew even worse.

On one hand, he was furious; on the other, he was helpless.

The fury was because he hated these officials. I treated you so well and gave you such important positions—was there any shortage of money or grain in your households? Didn't I give you everything you were due?

Even the businesses you ran, I turned a blind eye to them. You ride in grand carriages with attendants before and behind you—is that not enough?

You still have to be greedy, still have to extort and oppress the people—what money do you dare not earn?

The helplessness came from the fact that with such a scandal having erupted, the Joseon king simply had no way to suppress it. The elders faction was attacking madly, and he didn't even have the strength to resist.

With pent-up frustration compounded by anger, the Joseon king had been in a bad mood these past two days. He had eaten calming pills for several days straight with no effect.

Watching Zheng Xuhong walk in from outside, the King of Joseon raised his hand and said, "No need for ceremony."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zheng Xuhong nodded and spoke respectfully.

"Did Kim Jeong-min come with you?" The King of Joseon looked at Zheng Xuhong and asked.

He wished he could hear Zheng Xuhong say no, but that was no longer possible.

"Yes, Your Majesty. He came with me." Zheng Xuhong said.

The sovereign and his minister exchanged a glance, their expressions utterly sour, wishing they could strangle this old fellow to death on the spot.

Why was it that despite his advanced age, he was still so healthy? Running about busily all day long, yet he never seemed to tire?

How could they make him sick from exhaustion? If he fell ill from overwork, then everything would be solved.

The old fellow was bouncing around everywhere, making it impossible to even pull any strings behind his back. What a nuisance.

If only this old fellow would just die.

But both the sovereign and his minister understood that this old fellow could not die. If he died at this moment, the trouble would be immense.