Chapter 1069

Sigh, they were all allies, so they couldn't refuse to lend it; the main issue was that the hand-cranked radio was unreliable—mostly, their Kyushu traders used it to communicate with each other, and occasionally they could reach the sea, but due to its limited range, they had to borrow the imperial court's large telegraph machine to contact the mainland.

They were mutually supportive; when Kuang Ping personally asked, they couldn't refuse.

So Kuang Ping set off with the state letter and a hand-cranked radio; if anything happened, the large radio station in Dasen Village could receive their message and relay it back to Jingcheng.

Just as Kuang Ping's party arrived in Heian-kyo, Pan Yun's vanguard had retaken three cities in Pyeongan Province; Daini Shuichi discovered that the Great Ming reinforcements hadn't fallen for the trap—they'd turned the tables on them—and was forced to redeploy, simultaneously continuing north to attack Kaeseong and rebuilding the frontline Pan Yun had shattered, reclaiming the lost cities.

He was certain Pan Yun's main force couldn't return to Kaeseong in time, so he personally led his army on a flanking maneuver to approach Kaeseong, aiming to encircle it.

Of course, before the encirclement, every city standing in their path had to be leveled.

When he learned that several cities' ronin had been captured—or even killed—he flew into a rage; those men could have served as their spies and inside agents, and now they were all gone.

And battlefield defeats only fueled his fury; during his pre-battle rally, he promised his troops that once they took any city, they could take whatever women and treasures they wanted, and celebrate for three days.

As soon as he spoke, battle spirit surged—because this amounted to an order for massacre.

The last time they sacked Hanseong, it was under the same order, and they had indeed revelled in the city for three full days.

This pre-battle rally spread rapidly beyond the camp, spreading ahead of the army through the Korean countryside.

Korea had suffered defeats; many captives and defected ministers and generals now served in the Japanese army.

They had surrendered to the Japanese for fame, profit, and safety—but that didn't mean they could watch the Japanese massacre cities.

Especially the captured prince and ministers of Hanseong; when they heard this news, they felt the heavens had collapsed, and fled at any cost to spread the word.

Many died in the attempt; only two managed to escape, two of the three captured princes died, two princesses died, and only the two youngest princesses and prince survived because they'd been shielded in the center—but they couldn't escape.

Two minor officials escaped under the cover of others, and along the way, they shouted to anyone they met: "Japanese pirates are going to massacre the city! Japanese pirates are going to massacre the city…"

The message reached the scouts sent out to gather intelligence; they spent considerable effort catching up to the two men.

Once they confirmed the truth, they immediately sent the message back via telegraph machine.

At this moment, Li Song's central army had just arrived at Kaeseong; upon hearing the news, he immediately had Li Nang deliver a pre-battle rally and ordered troops to proclaim the message across the nation, especially in cities still untouched by the enemy.

"The Japanese pirates come only to plunder—they have no rear to protect, so they loot and slaughter! Behind us are our parents, wives, children, brothers, and sisters—if they enter our cities, all of them will die!"

"They have no rear to protect, but neither do they have reinforcements! Kill one more, and your chance to preserve your homeland and family grows! We have rear to protect—but our concern is our strength! Your king is here, Great Ming soldiers are here, Your Majesty stands with you, and the Great Ming State Preceptor will pray for you, protect Korea—will you fight?!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Messengers carried the battle proclamation to every city, especially those blocking the Japanese army's inevitable path.

Li Song ordered all civilians in the countryside to take shelter within city walls, implementing a scorched-earth policy.

Korea's resolve to resist the Japanese pirates surged, drastically slowing the Japanese advance.

Li Song personally led his army to confront Daini Shuichi; before the two sides even met, they were already fighting across the distance.