Chapter 148: The Order of Zhen Dong City

The Wang Family's messenger pigeon swift vessel, departing from Yangzhou, crossed the East Sea at top speed and delivered the newly appointed Head of Family Wang Zhen's handwritten letter to Zhen Dong City.

Inside the City Lord's residence, Wang Meng sat on a rosewood chair in the main hall, his gaze sweeping over the attendants. "All of you, leave. No one may approach without my order." His voice was low and authoritative. The attendants bowed and obeyed, retreating one after another, and the vast hall instantly contained only Wang Meng.

He picked up the letter from Yangzhou, sealed tightly with wax that bore the exclusive seal of the newly appointed Head of Family Wang Zhen of the Wang Family; the bright red seal stood out under the lamp. He pinched the wax with his fingertip, gave it a gentle snap, and with a "crack" the wax shattered, revealing the neatly folded paper inside.

The letter was short—only a few hundred words—but each word weighed heavily. Wang Meng read it word by word, his brow gradually furrowing; the expression on his normally calm face kept shifting. First confusion, then surprise, and finally his whole body froze in the chair, the paper in his hand trembling slightly, his gaze fixed on the four characters "Fanxi Plan" without moving for a long time.

He sat there in silence, the hall so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat. As the Wang Family's full authority representative in Wa Country and the chief executor of the "Red Earth Plan," Wang Meng considered himself accustomed to blood and carnage, his heart hardened like iron.

In recent years, to destabilize Wa Country's situation, he had unhesitatingly sparked one civil war after another, watching the flames sweep the islands, hundreds of thousands displaced, corpses littering the land, and his heart never wavered.

To remove obstacles to the plan, he had coldly sent the pawns he had personally cultivated, along with their tens of thousands of followers, straight to hell without blinking an eye. He always believed he had fully mastered the essence of "by any means" taught by the former Head of Family Wang Po, and that no one could match his ruthlessness and decisiveness.

But when he finished reading Wang Zhen's "Fanxi Plan," he realized how laughable his own understanding was. His past methods, though brutal, had remained at the level of "killing" — killing merely ends a life, and grievances cease with death. Wang Zhen's "Fanxi Plan," however, aims to annihilate an entire nation, to utterly castrate a people's culture, bloodline, and dignity from its roots.

The plan intends to turn their descendants into a herd that only knows the Wang Family, unaware of any former nation, a talking livestock.

"The Head of Family… truly a ruthless man."

Wang Meng's voice was soft, carrying a barely perceptible sigh that echoed lightly in the empty hall. He raised his hand to rub his temples, his fingertips pressing the tense nerves, trying to ease the dizziness caused by the plan's shock.

When his fingertips brushed the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, he realized he had become tense all over without noticing; even when he personally designed the elimination of tens of thousands of followers years ago, he had never felt such a mental tremor.

He lowered his hand, his gaze returning to the letter, a surge of relief rising in his chest.

Fortunately, he is of the Wang Family. If one were born on the opposite side of the Wang Family, having to face such heart‑crushing tactics, watching the family's foundations crumble piece by piece and the cultural bloodline be completely severed, that would be an utterly desperate fate.

He feared that before even gathering enough strength to resist, he would already become a pawn manipulated unseen, eventually forgetting who he was and where he came from entirely.

The thought lingered in his mind only briefly before Wang Meng quickly shook his head, suppressing the superfluous emotions. He is the Wang Family's executor in Wa Country, not a sentimental scholar; pondering whether the plan is "ruthless" or not is far less important than figuring out how to implement it.

As the Wang Family's most loyal blade, the Head of Family's will is his guiding direction. No matter how absurd or cruel the order appears, he will execute it without deviation.

He inhaled deeply, straightening his previously stiff back; the complexity and shock in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by calm and resolve.

His fingers carefully folded the letter and placed it into a close‑fitting brocade pouch; every word in the letter would become the guideline for the upcoming actions. He rose, walked to the doorway, opened the door, and the trusted aide waiting outside immediately stepped forward, bowing to receive orders.

"Someone, go fetch Lord Matsura and bring him here."

…

Matsura Takunobu's mood lately has been quite good.

He had just returned from Kyoto, bringing his troops back to Kyushu.

This "Loyalty to the King" expedition yielded great gains.

He not only rightfully ascended to the positions of Kanpaku and Seii Taishōgun, becoming the country's overt supreme ruler.

More importantly, through that brutal decisive battle, he personally eliminated all potential rivals.

Oda, Tokugawa, Uesugi, Takeda… the traditional daimyōs he once feared were severely weakened and lost their main forces under the Wang Family's scheming and his own betrayal.

Now, throughout Wa Country, apart from the Wang Family, no one can challenge the authority of his Matsura clan.

Although these achievements are far from honorable, he has already stood at the pinnacle of his life, isn't it?

When he received General Wang Meng's summons, he did not delay at all, immediately donning the most splendid court robes, boarding the fastest ship, and rushing to Zhen Dong City.

He assumed General Wang Meng's summons this time was to celebrate the victory and discuss how to divide the post‑war spoils.

He had even already figured out how to show loyalty to General Wang Meng while subtly securing additional benefits for himself.

After all, the Matsura family has served the Wang Family for two generations; one could say the Matsura surname is the Japanese clan most intertwined with the Wang Family.

However, when he entered the City Lord's residence and saw Wang Meng's expressionless face, his heart gave a "thud," and he felt the situation might not be that simple.

"General Wang." Matsura Takunobu said respectfully, kneeling on the ground and performing a deep bow.

"Rise." Wang Meng's voice was flat as he gestured for Matsura Takunobu to sit on the chair beside him.

Then he tossed a document in front of Matsura Takunobu.

"This is the Head of Family's edict just sent from Yangzhou; take a look."

Matsura Takunobu was stunned by the favor.

The Head of Family's edict? That's the highest‑level order of the Wang Family! That General Wang Meng would hand it to me? What a level of trust!

He, with a mix of excitement and curiosity, carefully picked up the document.

That document had already been transcribed by Wang Meng into Wa script.

Matsura Takunobu began to read it word by word carefully.

At first, a hint of a flattering smile lingered on his face.

But the deeper he read, the more rigid his smile became.

By the end, his complexion had turned as pallid as a corpse.

His hands began to tremble uncontrollably. What seemed to him only a few pages of paper now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Pat—.

The document slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

"Gen… General…," his lips trembled, barely forming a full sentence, "Is… what's written here… true?"

"Do you think the Head of Family's order could be false?" Wang Meng asked coldly, looking at him.

"No… it's not…," Matsura Takunobu hurriedly waved his hand, trying to explain but not knowing where to start.

His mind was a chaos.

"Fanxi Plan"?

Encouraging women to mate and bear children freely like livestock?

The resulting children, with unknown fathers, could only be given ridiculous surnames like "Inoue," "Matsushita," or "Tabata"?

Is… is this a plan a human could conceive?!

It aims to turn our Yamato people into a herd of beasts without shame, without morals, without ancestors!

A surge of humiliation and anger rose in his heart.

Although Matsura Takunobu had been educated by the Wang Family since childhood, after entering the Wang Family school he had formed part of his own values, and with his late father Matsura Town's teachings, he held a distinct affection for his own country and people.

If he were allowed to directly slaughter all the nobility, burn all the country's written books, perhaps it would be much easier to accept than this.

He suddenly raised his head, wanting to resist questioning.

But when his gaze met Wang Meng's icy, emotionless eyes, the sliver of courage that had just sparked in his heart was instantly extinguished.

He recalled those "allies" who died with unresolved grievances beneath the capital, the black warships at the port of the eastern garrison city, and his most beloved son, who was still in the Wang Family Academy, "enjoying" the education of the Celestial Dynasty.

All his anger and humiliation turned into deep fear and helplessness.

He had thought he now held actual control over all of Japan, that he could stand on equal footing with the Wang Family, merely with differences in rank.

But now he finally understood that, no matter how strong he was, as long as he remained within the Wang Family's easy-to-destroy range, he, Song Pu Long Xin—including the entire Song Pu Family and the entire Wa State—was merely a tool in the Wang Family's eyes, a tool that could be used and discarded at will.

This so-called Regent, this so-called Shogun, was nothing but a joke before the Wang Family!

What does the master have the dog do—does the dog have the right to refuse?

Thinking of this, his body, which had been tense, instantly went limp as if all strength had been drained, his knees hitting the cold floor with a thud, making a dull sound.

He knelt down again on the ground.

His forehead pressed deeply against the cold floor.

"Subject…… Song Pu Long Xin……"

His voice was hoarse, dry, and filled with despair.

... I respectfully obey the order of the Wang Family Head of Family.