130,000 Dongying troops.
Over 70,000 servant soldiers took a day and two nights to barely clean up.
There were no captives to be taken.
There were no soldiers willing to surrender.
All the captured Dongying soldiers were lined up and beheaded on the ground.
They were pushed into large pits in groups, then a great fire was lit on the edge of the pits to "warm them up."
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The order to leave no prisoners or surrendering soldiers alive was given by Yang Ge.
However, these acts of slaughtering captives and surrendering soldiers were creatively thought out by the servant armyās Dongying slaves on their own initiative.
Not a single Samurai from the servant army protested Yang Geās orders. On the contrary, all the Samurai were eager to carry out his command, and racked their brains to make the process more "enjoyable."
It was as if, as victors, they were supposed to act this way.
Not acting in this manner would not sufficiently display their majesty as victorsā¦
With everyone being so obedient, what could Yang Ge say?
Of course, he could only indulge them!
On the second night, the bright flames lit up the night in Tanigawa like daylight. Countless servant Dongying slaves enjoyed the food and wine they had plundered, dancing and reveling around soaring bonfires. The sound of joyous cheering intertwined with heart-wrenching screams, turning that moonless night into what seemed like purgatory on earth.
Zhou Fu, accompanied by Liu Tang and Nangong Feiying, found Yang Ge lying alone on a mound, far from the crowd, with his horse beside him.
"My lord, perhaps you were right!"
That was the first thing Zhou Fu said after finding Yang Ge, following his gaze into the firelight, his pupils filled with disgust. Behind that disgust, there flickered a hint of horror that even he himself might not have noticed.
"Such ruthlessly evil, beast-hearted creatures can only be extinguished entirely for our great land of China, so thousands upon thousands of our people can rest easy."
His tone was firm and resonant as he said, "Otherwise, should these beast-like creatures gain momentum, they would surely become a severe threat to the heart of our great China!"
Yang Ge glanced at him sidelong and lightly clucked his tongue, chuckling, "The way I hear it, it sounds like youāre criticizing me in a roundabout way."
That one look made Zhou Fuās heart skip, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He had prepared his speech carefully, but suddenly he forgot it all, stumbling over his words "this" and "I" for several moments without being able to complete a sentence.
Yang Ge sensed his alarm, and immediately tightened his own aura, trying to level his tone and smiling gently, "Alright, Iām just joking with you. Youāre too serious... If you hadnāt come to find me, I was about to come looking for you. What are your plans for what follows?"
Zhou Fu then felt a sudden relief, a sense of having narrowly escaped great danger washing over him.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he exchanged glances with Liu Tang and Nangong Feiying, and all three of them bowed respectfully and said, "We leave it all to your leadership!"
Yang Ge laughed, "Are you sure you want me to take charge? Once I decide, thereās no turning back!"
The three showed a moment of hesitation, "This..."
Without turning back, Yang Ge waved his hand, "Alright, I know you canāt help it, so just hear my suggestion first. If you find it appropriate, we can continue discussing. If not, letās leave it here for now, and later I will personally find someone who can take charge to talk to."
Upon hearing this, all three became anxious, hastily saying, "My lord, you just need to speak, if itās feasible there will be no second thought from us, and even if itās not, weāll surely work out a solution!"
"Exactly, exactly, thereās no need to trouble the higher-ups."
"You speak, and surely the higher-ups wonāt have any objections, so thereās no need for you to trouble yourself again..."
How could they dare let him go to the higher-ups?
The higher-ups would probably be too scared to face him.
Would they ever have any good outcomes if he had to visit the capital over some trivial matter?
Since the higher-ups cannot do anything about him, could they not do anything to them?
"Itās no trouble, anyway, I need to go to the capital, as there are some accounts there waiting to be settled."
With that casual remark from Yang Ge, all three felt their hearts sink, lamenting their misfortune.
"But thatās a matter for later. Dongying has been flattened by all of us together; for this matter, I still prefer we all discuss it together and everyone gains from it..."
Yang Ge continued, "Hereās what I think: Heian-kyo... letās leave it to the servant army. We wonāt say anything; they can do what they like, whether they keep it intact or burn it down, itās completely up to them, and we shouldnāt even enter the city, to avoid sullying our eyes."
"After itās all done, according to our prior plan, continue the advance, sweep through the entire Dongying, flatten every village and community leader along with their families, rooting them all out. In short, no person of higher status than others should remain on this land. If any does, they shall die!"
"Of course, this is all trivial; the elite forces of Kinai and Kanto have been decimated in this battle. What remains should be easy to conquer."
"What I wanted to discuss isnāt this issue..."
"Itās about the post-war handling of the servant army and Dongying."
"The servant army has now tasted blood and sharpened their fangs; certainly they cannot just be ignored. My suggestion is, as we previously discussed, to deploy them overseas, whether to Goguryeo or the steppes, let them continue to expand territory for China, and completely drain their last drop of blood."