We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

"died?"

Li Che walked into the bedroom and frowned as he looked at the little emperor lying motionless on the bed.

"Your Highness," Ma Zhong replied with a bow, "I am late. The Japanese royal family in the Imperial Palace has been completely slaughtered by Kaibu Munemasa."

"I asked him why he wanted to kill the king, but he remained silent and only said he wanted to see Your Highness."

Li Che turned his head and saw Haibu Zongzhen sitting on the ground tied up, staring at Li Che.

"As for the little emperor..." Ma Zhong pointed to Emperor Ninna's neck, "There are no obvious fatal injuries, but there is a bloody mark on his neck. It must be that Kaibu Munezane strangled him with a bowstring."

Hearing this, Li Che couldn't help but smile: "This guy is quite good to the little emperor. He chose a decent way to die."

The bowstring strangled the emperor, leaving the body intact. Wu Sangui also gave Emperor Yongli this way of death, which was considered to be the preservation of the emperor's majesty.

The young emperor was lucky enough to have met a loyal minister.

If he fell into my hands, not to mention slow slicing him to death, I would at least follow the example of Louis XVI and become the brainless last emperor.

Li Che waved his hand, signaling his guards to take the young emperor away. "Parade him through the streets, then hang him at the city gate for seven days."

"Here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Haibu Zongzhen's pupils shrank sharply, and his eyes looking at Li Che became colder.

Li Che, however, didn't care at all. He smiled and asked, "Why? You personally cut off the Emperor's bloodline because you're afraid that I'll support a puppet Emperor and control your country?"

Haibu Zongzhen said hoarsely: "Your Excellency's methods are sinister, and I have to be on guard."

Wen Zaiyin, standing by, said, "Your Highness, there is no need to listen to his nonsense. This official's attempt to infringe upon his superiors is a futile act. I dare to conclude that there must be other members of the royal family residing elsewhere in Japan."

Li Che turned his head and saw that the old man Wen Zaiyin was obviously still angry with him, with a puffed-up face.

But in order to save face for outsiders, he had to give His Highness enough face even if he was angry. Wen Zaiyin was not the kind of overly pedantic Confucian scholar.

After being exposed by Wen Zaiyin's words, Haibu Zongzhen's eyes flashed slightly.

Li Che figured it out and couldn't help but laugh: "Old Wen is right. You can't put all your eggs in one basket. Even if the Japanese royal family is stupid, they can figure it out."

Li Che did want to find the royal family members scattered throughout Japan, but not to rule Japan in the name of the royal family.

Instead, they wanted to completely exterminate the Emperor's bloodline and put an end to any glimmer of hope that the Japanese would restore their country!

He then looked at Kaibu Munemasa: "The deed has already been done. Why didn't you commit suicide yourself, but chose to fall into my hands?"

Li Che paused, his eyes sharp as a knife, raised his eyebrows and asked:

"Could it be... fear of death?"

"Are you afraid of death?" Kaibu Munemori uttered a short, sharp sneer.

He stared at Li Che's face, his eyes like poisoned hooks: "What's there to fear about death? The reason I don't seek death is just to see you."

"I want to see with my own eyes what kind of person the King of Daqing is and why he could commit such atrocities worse than those of beasts and genocide!"

As soon as these words came out, the generals behind Li Che, such as Ma Zhong, Ying Bu, Qiu Bai, etc., changed color and shouted angrily:

"presumptuous!"

"You old thief is looking for death!"

"Umibe Munemasa, I'm going to the morning eight!"

"How can a defeated general like you humiliate my prince?!"

Wang Sanchun drew out his sword with a clang, and the sharp blade pointed directly at Haibu Zongzhen's throat.

Then he let out a vicious laugh and was about to rush forward to chop people down with murderous intent.

Li Che raised his hand to stop him. Wang Sanchun stopped abruptly, and the tip of the knife was still trembling.

A faint smile appeared on Li Che's face: "I have seen it, so what?"

Haibu Zongzhen was panting, and his turbid eyes swept across Li Che's face repeatedly.

Finally, his tone turned sarcastic: "Humph! Now it seems that it is nothing more than... a mortal body. No special features, nothing special at all!"

"That's right." Li Che nodded, his voice clearly echoing in the palace, "You and I are both mortals. This world is full of mortals."

He took a step forward, his boot soles stepping into the pool of blood:

"You, Kaibu Munemasa, are a wise man. You should understand that there is no divine right of kings in this world. There is no such thing as a saint."

"Unfortunately, you Japanese people don't understand this truth."

"If you hadn't worshipped that so-called Emperor as a god, perhaps your entire clan wouldn't have fallen into the obsession of extreme bellicosity and ultimately ended up like this... with the destruction of your nation and your race!"

"warlike?!"

Kaibu Munemora was like a cat whose tail was stepped on. He glared at Li Che with bloodshot eyes and struggled to stand up.

However, Qu Jinshan behind him just kicked him lightly, and he fell back heavily.

Haibu Zongzhen had no way to deal with Li Che, so he could only roar: "My country of Japan lives on an island and has never provoked your country of Feng!"

"It's you! You lunatic! You've brought your Fengguo army across the sea!"

"Murder! Arson! Extermination of the entire clan! Massacre of the entire city!"

"Such a beastly act is something I have never heard of or seen in all the history books I have read!"

"Now, how dare you accuse my country, Japan, of being warmongering?!"

Kaibu Munezane's eyes were bloodshot and blood foam was splattering. He looked like a real evil ghost.

The smile on Li Che's face did not fade away, but became even stronger.

That’s right! It’s just right!

This is the feeling you want!

Everything Japan is experiencing now is just a premature replay of its future history, with the roles swapped.

Just like that...you're broken?

Why did you come across the sea? Why did you kill people, set fires, and massacre the city? How should I know? ! !

This is exactly what you beasts did. What the Fengtian Army did to Japan was less than 10% of the atrocities committed by the Japanese army!

Li Che clapped his hands lightly twice, the crisp sound was particularly piercing in the hall: "Well said, very well said!"

"Then let me ask you, General of the Navy...about the Fuzhou Port..."

Kaibu Munezane's body suddenly stiffened and his roar stopped abruptly.

His eyes flickered, his Adam's apple rolled, and he managed to squeeze out a voice with difficulty: "That was...that was the private actions of a few foolish nobles! I have always opposed it! They...should not provoke the powerful Feng Kingdom!"

"You're right." Li Che laughed heartily, "We shouldn't have provoked the powerful Feng Kingdom! You're absolutely right!"

The laughter suddenly stopped, and Li Che asked coldly: "But what if my country is weak? What if that continent falls into civil strife, and the Central Plains dynasty becomes impoverished and weak?!"

Li Che took a step forward, his momentum pressing down like a tsunami, making it almost impossible for Haibu Zongzhen to breathe:

"If that is the case, you will pounce on your prey like hungry wolves, crossing the sea to China and repeating what Japan is experiencing today."

"This is the nature of you Japanese! You bully the weak and fear the strong! Your wolfish ambitions are obvious!"

Li Che lowered his voice and asked with a smile:

"Since I have seen through your true nature as a Japanese, what is wrong with me striking first? What is wrong with annihilating your despicable race?"

Haibu Zongzhen's lips moved, and the blood color on his face faded, leaving only a deathly gray.

He wanted to retort, to yell, to find even the slightest excuse.

However, Li Che's words exposed all the hypocritical fig leaves and exposed the dirty calculations in his nation's bones in broad daylight.

Yes, when the continent across the sea was in civil strife, how many people in the Japanese court had conspired to cross the sea and move westward.

How many generations of Japanese people have despised the small size of the islands under their feet and coveted the rich land of the Central Plains?

But...but nothing happened as expected.

However, high-ranking Japanese officials, including Kaifu Munemasa, always felt that they had disguised themselves very well.

The tribute to Daqing has never been insufficient, and the attitude of servile submission to the Celestial Empire has never changed.

Even ordinary Japanese might not know about this dirty thought, so how did Li Che know about it?!

Kaibu Munezane lowered his head dejectedly, his cracked lips trembling, but he was unable to utter a single word.

There was dead silence in the hall.

After a long while, Kaibu Munezana finally raised his head with his last bit of strength, his voice hoarse and broken: "What are you going to do? Are you going to...are you going to kill all the Japanese...?"

Li Che chuckled as if he had heard some extremely ridiculous joke.

Then he looked at Kaibu Munezana with a look of pity and contempt, as if he were looking at a complete fool:

"Kill them all? How could I do such a foolish thing?"

He paused and said calmly:

"You Japanese are excellent livestock. If you don't enslave and utilize them properly, wouldn't that be a waste of natural resources?"

Kaibu Munemori's whole body trembled violently, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper.

Livestock and utilization, these two words don’t sound like good words no matter how you listen to them.

Kaibu Munemasa could not imagine what this sinister and vicious King Feng in front of him would do to his compatriots.

The future of Japan is in the hands of such people, and what a miserable end it will end up in.

He made a strange "ho ho" sound in his throat, but couldn't utter a word.

He wanted to point at Li Che, but his arm felt like it was being pressed down by a mountain and he couldn't lift it.

In the end, Kaibu Munezane's whole body went limp and his eyes gradually became unfocused.

After a moment, Ma Zhong realized something was wrong and stepped forward to check Haibu Zongzhen's breath.

Then he frowned and turned to look at Li Che: "Your Highness, he is dead."

When the generals heard this, they were all stunned, and then looked at Li Che tacitly.

Qiu Bai's mouth twitched even more. His own prince... scolded someone to death again?

Hey, why should I say it again?

Upon hearing this, Li Che no longer looked at Haibu Zongzhen, as if there was nothing but a pool of disgusting filth under his feet.

He turned around, his black cloak drawing a cold arc, and strode out of the hall.

The generals did not dare to say much and followed closely behind.

Outside the palace, the setting sun was as blood-red, illuminating the ancient Japanese capital groaning in the flames of war.

The generals stood in silence, waiting for Li Che to give the final order.

Not long after, Li Che's voice sounded again:

"Pass the order down, eliminate the remaining enemies in Kyoto, and kill all who resist!"

"All Japanese in the city, regardless of gender, age or status, must gather together."

Li Che's eyes swept across the ruins in front of him and he said softly:

"Tell them... Japan has changed hands! Their good days are over!"

"The royal bloodline is cut off, Amaterasu has lost her protection, the Japanese have become homeless dogs, and there is no new emperor for them to follow."

Li Che's voice suddenly rose, announcing the final fate of the Japanese:

"From now on, the Japanese have only one master!"

"That's us—we Qing people!"