Chapter 1633: Benevolence and Calculation

And at this very moment, it was not only Zhou Pu who was cheering with joy — the highest command echelon of the Great Han expeditionary army against Japan was also filled with delight. After completely cutting off and encircling Nagasaki, the Great Han army had massed and launched a full-scale assault on Nagasaki Castle yesterday morning. After less than a day of fierce fighting, the remaining shogunate troops within the city had been essentially wiped out, and Nagasaki itself had fallen.

The fall of this city represented not only the number of shogunate soldiers eliminated, but also signified that the first step of the Great Han's plan to conquer Japan had now been successfully completed.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, subsequent progress would also proceed very smoothly.

However, for the time being, Nagasaki Castle could not yet be put to practical use as spoils of war for the Great Han — ravaged by the Great Han's artillery bombardment and compounded by the defending army's deliberate arson, Nagasaki had been reduced to ruins under this twofold devastation, with barely any structures remaining. At least in the short term, the port would be unusable.

Under the orders of the shogunate Elder Naitō Tadashige, the remaining soldiers of Nagasaki Castle had begun setting fire to Nagasaki after being besieged. Already plunged into despair, they threw themselves into burning the city with great zeal, even more actively than they had fought against the Great Han.

Yet even so, the high command of the expeditionary army was still extremely satisfied at having taken Nagasaki so quickly.

In the spring dawn light, the expeditionary army's commander-in-chief Zhao Song and his staff officers emerged from the temporary command post by the shore and entered Nagasaki Castle. Everywhere were broken walls and rubble, and in some places thick smoke billowed, choking people until they could barely breathe.

Along the paths they took, there were still wailing civilian women and children everywhere, and even the fallen bodies of defending soldiers. When they stepped on the ground, their feet would be stained with brown and gray mud and dust — some of it probably blood clots that had only just congealed.

But these manifold scenes of misery did not affect the mood of Zhao Song and his men. Though none of them were very old, they were all seasoned generals who had fought for many years and had long grown accustomed to sights even more brutal than these. Their hearts could no longer be stirred by such scenes.

Led by an officer, they finally arrived at a place where the smoke was somewhat thinner. Perhaps because there had been no time or insufficient manpower, this small area had not suffered severe damage. Although some houses showed burn marks, they could still be repaired quickly.

And this place had become a location for the Great Han army to rest and regroup, as well as to hold captives and civilians.

Under the watchful eyes of Zhao Song and his men, squads of soldiers were escorting captives and the civilians of Nagasaki here, then herding them together. These people were afflicted with both hunger and thirst, and their will had long since been utterly crushed by the flames of war, so they merely followed the soldiers escorting them here in a numb stupor, as if resigned to their fate.

But as time passed and more and more people gathered here, the rising clamor of voices slowly began to restore some spirit to these people, and gradually they also began to grow afraid — they feared that these ferocious Great Han soldiers had deliberately assembled them in order to slaughter them all at once.

In order to galvanize the will of Nagasaki's soldiers and civilians to resist, the shogunate officials had been spreading rumors that the Great Han army was savage and cruel, and particularly fond of massacring cities. These rumors had been readily accepted by the soldiers and civilians, so they had tried every means to evade the Great Han army — though their will to resist had not grown much as a result.

When they saw Zhao Song's group, clearly high-ranking officers, arrive here, these people grew even more frightened. They took this as an omen that the slaughter was about to begin, and the crowd began to surge toward him. The Great Han soldiers nearby had great difficulty holding back this tide of people.

Wails and pleas for mercy rose and fell without end, nearly drowning out every other sound around them.

Watching this chaotic scene, Zhao Song furrowed his brow slightly in displeasure.

"Make them quiet down," he calmly ordered the officer beside him.

"Yes, sir!" The officer acknowledged, then gave the order to his soldiers. "Fire a warning shot!"

Having received the officer's command, the musketeers, who had long been prepared to fire, raised their guns and fired into the sky. The thunderous crack of gunfire finally stirred the fear deep within these people's hearts, and the crowd slowly began to retreat.

"The Great Han general has orders to convey to you. All of you listen obediently!" At this moment, a staff officer beside Zhao Song who could speak Japanese stepped forward and shouted at the crowd. "Whoever dares to speak again will be killed without mercy!"

Under the threat of blades and guns, the clamorous noise finally slowly subsided, and everything fell into dead silence.

Zhao Song walked over beside this staff officer and quietly gave him a few words of instruction.

"The general has issued his command! From this day forward, Nagasaki and all of you fall under the jurisdiction of our Great Han army! You must work for the Great Han — only thus can you preserve your lives!" The staff officer carried out Zhao Song's order to the letter. "The Great Han army maintains strict military discipline. If you honestly do the work assigned by the Great Han army, nothing will happen to you. But whoever dares to defy the Great Han army's orders or refuses to obey assignments will be killed without mercy!"

At yet another threat of being killed without mercy, a visible stir ran through the crowd, but no one dared to speak out — although the Great Han general's orders were harsh, they did not seem to indicate an intention to massacre the city, so many people actually breathed a sigh of relief inwardly because of this.

"The Great Han general knows that you have not had a proper meal for many days now, so the Great Han general, in his great mercy, intends to distribute food to you! From today onward, you may all receive food here twice a day!" Under the terrified gazes of these people, the officer continued to shout. "However, this must be exchanged with your labor. You are to perform corvée labor for the Great Han army. If anyone dares to disobey or disrupt order, they will be killed without mercy!"

Then, before their eyes, the Great Han soldiers set up several large cauldrons, started fires, and began boiling water, almost exactly like distributing relief in a disaster area — except what they were preparing to hand out was not thin gruel, but flatbread military rations. The water was only for them to drink, to prevent anyone from choking to death.

As they watched the Great Han soldiers start the fires, many people began to swallow their saliva — just as the officer had said, most of them had not eaten anything for days and were already tormented by hunger and thirst.

"Listen! Line up and come receive it one by one! Whoever dares to disrupt order will be killed without mercy!" The staff officer emphasized once more.

Then, in the silence, a few people stepped out from the crowd. After that, more and more people followed behind them, and finally, nearly everyone walked toward these large cauldrons.

The captives and civilians now gathered in Nagasaki normally owed allegiance only to their own domain lords or the shogunate. What concept of "Japan" did they have in their hearts? Under the ravages of hunger, their bellies easily triumphed over so-called national righteousness. As long as they could survive, they did not care for whom they performed corvée labor.

Even if some were unwilling to work for the Great Han, under these circumstances they dared not show it. They could only suppress the anguish in their hearts and obey the Great Han general's orders, secretly hoping that the shogunate would soon fight its way back and recover Nagasaki.

Under the threat of the Great Han army's blades and guns, they obeyed the order and began lining up to come forward one by one. Then, according to the previous plan, the Great Han soldiers blocked the crowd after every twenty people were let through.

After these twenty people received their distributed flatbreads, they were led to the side of the cauldron.

"Groups of twenty! From now on, you will be organized in this order. You will all act according to your groups. Whoever dares to break away or dares to slack off — the entire group will be punished!" The staff officer explained to them. "Eat quickly!"

Having received the order, they finally felt as if they had been granted a great pardon. They picked up the dry rations and stuffed them into their mouths. Because they were ravenously hungry, some even shoved the entire flatbread directly into their mouths.

After finishing the dry rations, they were all very thirsty, but since they had no cups or bowls, they simply crouched down beside the cauldron and drank the water directly. Although this boiled water had cooled for a while, it was still somewhat hot, so some people coughed from being scalded as they drank, cutting a very wretched sight.

Yet, watching these scene after scene, Zhao Song and his men all maintained solemn expressions and did not laugh at them.

"Defeat in war is truly miserable — one can only be driven and ordered about, like pigs and dogs." Yan Guang, on the contrary, felt somewhat unable to bear it.

Then, as if afraid of being seen as sympathizing with the enemy, he immediately explained, "It's not that I pity them. I only fear that such a fate might befall the people of our Great Han... Think about it — were it not for His Majesty, the common folk within the passes might well have suffered such a calamity! Look at the wretched state of the Liao refugees back then, didn't they? Who knows whether, without us, the Jianzhou slaves might go on to ravage the interior again... If that were truly the case, I'm afraid they wouldn't even be given rations to keep them alive."

"That is why we who serve in the military bear a responsibility to the Great Han court and to the nation's people — to ensure that such things never befall the subjects of the Great Han," Zhao Song said expressionlessly. Then he turned his head to look at the officers beside him. "Do you see this?! If we slacken for even a single moment, our brothers, our parents, our wives and children will end up in such a state — or even worse!"

Unlike the usual lectures, not a single person answered today. Everyone merely watched in silence.

"Commander Zhao is absolutely right. The court and the nation's people support us with their blood and sweat — is it not precisely so that we may defend them? Drawing such generous pay and provisions, how can we not requite the nation with our very lives?" Only after a long while did Yan Guang nod. "Therefore we must remain ever vigilant, never grow arrogant or complacent. We must maintain the most advanced weaponry and technology, build the most advanced guns and warships. Only thus can we be worthy before the Son of Heaven, worthy before the Son of Heaven, and worthy before the myriad people of the Great Han!"

Amid the silence, the Great Han soldiers continued to process and take in these civilians according to plan. These civilians were organized into groups in order, and then every ten groups were placed under the unified control and supervision of a squad of combat engineers.

According to the predetermined plan, they would soon be thrown into various kinds of corvée labor. First, they would rebuild Nagasaki's port and civilian residences, to facilitate the Great Han's transport of supplies and to make it convenient for Great Han officers and soldiers to camp. Once this highest-priority task was completed, they would, under the assistance and guidance of Great Han combat engineers, construct more roads and buildings, making post-war Nagasaki an important tool for the Great Han to exert influence over Kyushu and even the whole of Japan.

And Zhao Song and his men also made Nagasaki Castle their new command post. Within this area, they selected a relatively intact residence that had originally belonged to a certain wealthy household and moved inside — according to long-term plans, after the war, far more luxurious official residences would be built here for the use of the commander-in-chief of the garrison forces stationed in Japan.

But that was a matter for later, and Zhao Song could not concern himself with so much now. After the war, he was certain to be recalled to the homeland for other important assignments, and likely would not remain here.

Because the officers had specially arranged for the place to be cleaned, the bloodstains and odors that had been everywhere were no longer present inside this house. He went to the innermost part of the house, which was clearly the study. Thus, the four walls were hung with many scrolls of calligraphy and painting, and there were also quite a few boxes for storing scrolls, all preserved very intact.

It seemed the homeowner had fled in great haste and so had not had time to clear things out — it was even possible that this homeowner was now among the labor gangs, waiting to perform corvée labor for the Great Han army in exchange for daily rations.

After moving in, Zhao Song immediately felt his previously taut nerves relax considerably. However, this was a traditional Japanese-style dwelling, so inside there were many soft tatami mats, but no chairs suited to his height — this point did make Zhao Song feel somewhat inconvenienced. He ordered the orderly beside him to chop down the trees in the courtyard and make a few chairs for them, then for the time being unceremoniously sat down on top of a tea table to rest for a while first.

And his chief staff officer Yan Guang simply plopped his rear directly down onto a soft couch, then stretched and yawned, without the slightest trace of his usual stern demeanor.

"If you're tired, then rest for a while. You've barely slept these past few days — it's about time you rested," Zhao Song said without even looking at him, merely gazing out the window.

"If you say I'm tired, I suppose I am a bit, but not to the point where I can't hold on. What kind of sleep is this in broad daylight? If the men below see it, won't it become a joke?" Yan Guang, however, did not appreciate the gesture. "I'll just rest a moment. I still have to draft recommendations for the next phase of operations later. Several subordinates have each put forward their own proposals — I need to see whose is better."

"Then I'll continue to trouble you with the hard work," Zhao Song said with a smile. "We might as well take advantage of this free moment — you write two victory dispatches, one for the Crown Prince and one for His Majesty. Neither of them has said anything openly, but I reckon they're waiting anxiously in their hearts. Our battle results now are so gratifying, it's worth giving them some joy."

"Alright, I'll write them in a moment." Yan Guang immediately agreed to his proposal; after all, he too was very eager to claim credit before His Majesty.

Then, he suddenly changed the subject. "That speech you gave just now was rather interesting. Usually, my colleagues and I have also pondered quite a bit about such matters... Ah, truth be told, these past few years we've pacified everything around us, and now the officers and soldiers everywhere are somewhat slack. Few are still willing to think about the future."

"Actually, I haven't thought much about it either. Matters of the future can be dealt with in the future. Right now, I just want to finish the war in Japan," Zhao Song said with a smile.

"This is just small-scale skirmishing. To be honest, what does defeating the shogunate count for? It's nothing more than bullying the little brothers around us. I hardly consider it much of an accomplishment," Yan Guang said dismissively. "An army is like a blade — if it's never used, it will rust and grow slack. If there are no enemies in the future, there will inevitably be those who think of putting the warhorses out to pasture on the southern hills. That is the most worrisome thing."

After a pause, he added another sentence. "That is why we will inevitably have to fight wars with the Westerners in the future — if not us, then our descendants. There's no escaping it in any case. Even if it's just to hone the blade, we ought to fight a few rounds with them from time to time."

"Is this His Majesty's intention?" Zhao Song asked warily.

Yan Guang, however, suddenly broke into a strange smile and sidestepped the question without answering.

Zhao Song, his curiosity already piqued, had been about to press further, but just then a staff officer came to report that the envoy His Majesty had previously sent to Kyushu had now arrived, and he had brought with him a domain lord who had come to pledge allegiance.

"Bring them both here at once!" Upon hearing this news, Zhao Song was overjoyed.

Ever since they had attacked Kyushu, although the military operations had gone very smoothly, Zhao Song and his staff officers had harbored a hidden worry in their hearts — the great houses of Kyushu had yet to begin pledging allegiance to them.

Their troop strength was too small to cover the entire island of Kyushu. Even if they could smash Kyushu to pieces and scatter every great house to ashes, if they wanted to rule Kyushu with any stability, relying on massed troops alone would not suffice; they would still need the help of these Kyushu great houses.

They had therefore always placed great hope in Zhou Pu, the official sent by the Son of Heaven, expecting him to use his own efforts to resolve their difficulties. But Zhou Pu had sent no word for all this time, so they had been forced to prepare for the worst.

Yet now, today, Zhou Pu had actually arrived, and had even brought a Japanese domain lord willing to pledge allegiance — how could this not make him cheer and leap for joy?

"That lord of the Yanagawa Domain... it's Tachibana Muneshige, isn't it?" At that moment, Yan Guang beside him suddenly came back to his senses. "Wasn't he one of Japan's famed generals back in the day? He will be of great use to us."

In order to better formulate battle plans, Yan Guang had naturally gathered all kinds of intelligence and carefully studied the history of Japan's earlier campaign against Goryeo. He was of course thoroughly familiar with the man Tachibana Muneshige, which made him all the more pleasantly surprised.

"Put Lord Zhou's name on the victory dispatch as well — he has done us an enormous favor." Zhao Song laughed heartily. "As expected, His Majesty's judgment was flawless!"

Soon, Zhou Pu and Tachibana Muneshige were led in by the guards.

Zhao Song and Yan Guang received the two of them together. Zhou Pu, needless to say, was treated with the utmost courtesy. Even toward Tachibana Muneshige himself, Zhao Song, in order to project the bearing of one who treats worthy men with deference, was extremely respectful, breaking from his usual stern and taciturn manner to offer a few words of praise, which left Tachibana Muneshige somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected honor.

In Tachibana Muneshige's eyes, this supreme commander sent by the Great Han to subjugate the shogunate must be one of the Great Han's highest-ranking generals, so he was equally reverent. At this moment, he still did not know the exact numbers of the Great Han army, nor did he know how important he himself was to the Great Han.