Chapter 156: Defeat

Ming army camp.

Li Wenzhong looked at the map, deep in thought.

"Cousin, we almost charged in today," Zhu Yong said.

"Almost" means a big difference; the city still has resistance forces, especially those monk soldiers, fierce and fearless, a reckless charge would cause huge casualties.

Li Wenzhong shook his head and said.

"Then what to do?"

Li Wenzhong pointed at the map and said, "Today's artillery hit the South Gate the hardest; tomorrow continue bombarding the South Gate and blast the city wall down completely.

Then…"

He paused and said, "Then set the city on fire."

"Burn the city?" Zhu Yong was startled.

"Yes... Kyoto's buildings are densely packed, mostly wooden; once they catch fire they're hard to extinguish. We'll fire fire bombs from our cannons, burn it for three days and three nights, and see if Ashikaga Yoshimitsu can still stay seated."

Li Wenzhong's eyes were cold as he said.

Zhu Yong actually wanted to say that it wasn't necessary to be so troublesome; he could just storm in, smash the main gate open, and rush inside.

However, Zhu Yong also knew his cousin didn't want too many brothers to die here, so he didn't let him charge straight in.

Zhu Yong was silent for a moment, then nodded, "I understand."

…

The sixth day of the fifth month, at dawn.

Ming army artillery roared again.

This time, the projectiles were no longer solid shot but fire bombs.

Fire bombs are oil‑cloth wrapped powder and sulfur; once ignited and fired, they burn upon landing.

One hundred cannons fired three successive volleys.

Three hundred fire bombs fell into Kyoto.

It was early summer; the sky was dry and the air arid.

The fire bombs ignited houses, and the flames spread rapidly.

The city was in chaos.

Civilians cried and fled, the garrison rushed to extinguish the blaze, but the fire was too great to put out.

Thick black smoke rolled, obscuring half the sky.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu stood on the high terrace of the Imperial Palace, watching the city ablaze, his face ashen.

"General, the South City fire is the worst; it has already reached Suzaku Street..." a subordinate reported.

"Ming army... they intend to burn Kyoto to ashes..." an elderly minister collapsed on the ground, saying.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu gritted his teeth and said, "Send the order: concentrate forces to fight the fire, contain it!"

But the order was hard to execute.

The city lacked water sources, fetching water was difficult, and the Ming army kept firing fire bombs.

The fire grew larger.

By afternoon, most of South City had turned into a sea of fire.

The thick smoke choked, the heat wave pressed.

Many civilians began fleeing toward North City; the garrison could not stop them.

Amid the chaos, someone opened the North Gate.

"The North Gate is open, run quickly!"

Civilians surged out of the gate like a tide.

The garrison tried to block them but were scattered.

The news reached the Military Camp of the Ming army.

Li Wenzhong laughed, "Indeed, when people fight for survival, they can do anything."

He ordered, "Send ten thousand men to block the North Gate; all civilians leaving the city are to be captured, able-bodied men sent to mine, women and children to be relocated."

"What about the garrison?" Zhu Yong asked.

"The garrison?" Li Wenzhong's eyes hardened, "Kill them all, no exceptions."

…

Outside the North Gate.

The Ming army had already formed ranks and waited.

Civilians who escaped saw the Ming army, were so frightened they knelt on the ground, daring not to move.

The Ming troops advanced, bound the able-bodied men, and pushed women and children aside.

Occasionally a warrior mixed among the civilians tried to resist and was slain on the spot.

In a short hour, they captured over eight thousand people.

The garrison inside, seeing the North Gate broken, realized the situation was lost and dropped their weapons to surrender.

But the Ming army did not accept the warriors' surrender; it was Li Wenzhong's death‑order.

Anyone wearing armor or bearing weapons was executed.

Fresh blood stained the ground outside the North Gate.

By evening, the fire waned.

It wasn't extinguished; everything that could burn had already burned.

South City became a scorched wasteland.

The Ming army entered the city through the north gate and cleared the remaining enemies.

Zu Li Yi Man, with his last three thousand Imperial Troops, withdrew to defend the palace.

The palace is the Wa Country imperial palace, with high walls and deep courtyards, easy to defend but hard to attack.

Li Wenzhong and Zhu Yong arrived outside the palace, looking at the tightly shut great gate.

"Cousin, shall we attack?" Zhu Yong asked.

Li Wenzhong shook his head and said, "No need. Send a messenger to shout, give Zu Li Yi Man one final chance."

The interpreter stepped forward and shouted, "Zu Li Yi Man, the palace is surrounded. Surrender and your life will be spared; stubborn resistance will surely lead to death!"

There was no response from within the palace.

Li Wenzhong waited a moment and said calmly, "It seems they will not surrender."

He waved his hand and said, "Set up the cannon."

Ten cannons were pushed to the front of the palace gate, their barrels aimed at the great door.

"Fire."

"Boom—Boom—Boom…"

The great door was blasted open.

The Ming army surged into the palace.

The final battle began.

Zu Li Yi Man's Imperial Troops were indeed elite, but against the Ming army's Flintlock Guns and plate armor, they were still no match.

The fighting lasted half an hour.

Inside the palace, corpses lay scattered everywhere.

Zu Li Yi Man, clad in splendid armor and wielding a tachi, stood before the main hall.

Fewer than a hundred men remained by his side.

Zhu Yong lifted the Double Hammers and walked into the Tingyuan.

"Zu Li Yi Man, surrender!" the interpreter shouted.

Zu Li Yi Man looked at Zhu Yong, grinned wryly, and said, "Demon King… the reputation is well earned."

He raised his sword toward Zhu Yong and said, "Dare you fight me?"

Zhu Yong answered naively, "You want to fight me?"

"Yes! A fair and square duel, I would gladly die!" Zu Li Yi Man said.

Zhu Yong glanced at Li Wenzhong.

Li Wenzhong nodded and said, "Go, give him a good beating."

Zhu Yong set down the Double Hammers and approached Zu Li Yi Man empty‑handed.

Zu Li Yi Man was startled and said, "You have no weapon?"

"With a weapon, you wouldn't survive a single strike," Zhu Yong replied.

Zu Li Yi Man roared in anger, brandishing his sword and charging.

His sword technique was indeed superb, the blade flashing like snow, swift and ruthless.

But in Zhu Yong's eyes, it was too slow.

Zhu Yong sidestepped the slash, reached out with his right hand, seized Zu Li Yi Man's wrist, and twisted.

"Snap!"

The wrist fractured, and the tachi fell to the ground.

Zu Li Yi Man let out a howl; before he could react, Zhu Yong kicked him in the chest.

"Puff..."

Zu Li Yi Man was flung backward, slammed into a pillar, and spewed fresh blood.

Zhu Yong walked over, looked at him, and said, "You have lost."

Zu Li Yi Man grimaced, "Yes… I have lost… Wa Country… has also lost…"

He looked up at Zhu Yong and asked, "Can you tell me… why the Ming army is so powerful?"

Zhu Yong thought for a moment and said, "Because we have a good Emperor, a good Crown Prince, and countless citizens yearning for a better life."

Zu Li Yi Man was stunned, then burst into laughter, laughing until he coughed up blood.

"So that's it… so that's it…"

He struggled to sit up, adjusted his attire, and knelt toward the east, saying, "His Majesty… I have done my best…"

Having said so, he drew the short dagger at his waist and thrust it into his abdomen.

He performed seppuku.

The surrounding Imperial Troops, seeing this, drew their swords and committed suicide.

In front of the main hall, bodies lay in a heap.

Zhu Yong watched all this in silence.

Li Wenzhong walked over, patted his shoulder, and said, "Let's go, let the men below handle the rest."

The two exited the palace.

Kyoto City had already fallen into the hands of the Ming army.

The great fire still burned in scattered spots, and black smoke spread.

On the Street, the Ming army cleared corpses and detained prisoners.

This war of annihilation finally reached its end.

Li Wenzhong stood outside the palace gate, gazing at the scarred Kyoto, his expression calm.

Send the order, tally the war results, clear the city, and three days later establish the Great Ming Japan Bu Zheng Shi Si Official in Kyoto.

Yes!

On the sixth day of the fifth month of the seventh year of Hongwu, the capital of Wa Country fell.

The Northern Court perished.

After a half‑year‑long war of conquest against Wa Country, Great Ming ended with an absolute victory.