ebookslot Chapter 550 The Emperor Begs for Mercy
Chapter 550 The Emperor Begs for Mercy
at the same time.
The army led by Lan Yu also began the final cleanup work!
Tens of thousands of Ming Dynasty troops stormed into the palace. Although Han Shizhong did not surrender, he led his guards to fight against the Ming army.
However, the tide has turned, and even if Han Shizhong fights desperately, it will be to no avail.
After a while.
Han Shizhong was captured alive by Lan Yu.
Upon witnessing Han Shizhong's capture, the Song soldiers defending the city naturally lost their will to fight, and in the following period, all the Song soldiers surrendered.
After a while.
This great battle then came to a complete end.
The Ming Empire completely occupied the capital of the Song Dynasty.
And this moment.
Inside this palace, Zhu Ying, the grandson of the Ming emperor, sat on the dragon throne of the Song emperor.
Soon, generals such as Lan Yu and Guo Zhen also arrived.
"This humble general pays his respects to Your Highness, the Imperial Grandson. May Your Highness live ten thousand years!"
"Be flat!"
"Thank you, Your Highness."
After Lan Yu, Guo Zhen, and other generals stood up, Zhu Ying coldly asked, "How is the battle going?"
Lan Yu spoke first, saying, "Your Highness, the army has completely taken control of the Song capital. Furthermore, I have captured Han Shizhong alive!"
After hearing Lan Yu's report, Zhu Ying nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good!"
"Bring Han Shizhong here."
As soon as Zhu Ying finished speaking, Lan Yu naturally did not dare to hesitate. He immediately shouted to the soldiers outside the hall, "Bring Han Shizhong up!"
Soon, several soldiers of the Ming Empire escorted Han Shizhong to the main hall.
However, Han Shizhong was quite principled. After seeing Zhu Ying, he did not kneel down, but stood still.
Upon witnessing this scene, Lan Yu immediately cursed, "Han Shizhong, you defeated general, how dare you not kneel before His Highness! Who gave you the courage!"
"Kneel down right now!"
At this moment, Zhu Ying, sitting on the dragon throne, calmly said, "Since Han Shizhong does not want to kneel, then there is no need to force him."
"Yes, sir!" Lan Yu replied immediately.
Immediately, Zhu Ying glanced at Han Shizhong in the main hall and asked in an icy tone, "Are you Han Shizhong? I have heard that you are the most loyal minister of the Song Kingdom."
In response to Zhu Ying's praise, Han Shizhong replied, "I am a defeated general. Do with me as you please. There's no need for further nonsense!"
Clearly, Han Shizhong at that time was already prepared to die.
When Zhu Ying saw Han Shizhong's reaction, he was not angry at all, but burst into laughter!
Zhu Yingyong said to Han Shizhong in an extremely disdainful tone: "Han Shizhong, your Song Kingdom has now been destroyed, and the Song emperor has been captured by the Hu people. You are still so stubborn and unrepentant. You are simply blindly loyal."
To be honest, when Han Shizhong heard Zhu Ying's words, he immediately blushed. He said angrily, "Kill me if you want, don't kill the Emperor! Our Song Kingdom has no enmity with your Great Ming Empire, why do you want to invade the Song Kingdom?"
Zhu Ying coldly said, "Why invade the Song Kingdom? Hmph! Your Song Kingdom occupies the Central Plains, yet it has been repeatedly invaded by these Tartars, and you have even signed many unequal treaties with them, which has disgraced the image of the Han people."
"Moreover, the emperor of the Song Dynasty was a coward who was greedy for life and death. He actually sneaked out of the palace and sacrificed the lives of 30 Song soldiers to save his own life for a while. How could such a person be the emperor of the Han people?"
Faced with Zhu Ying's sarcasm, Han Shizhong was speechless.
The reason is simple: everything Zhu Ying said was true, so when Han Shizhong heard it, he felt both helpless and somewhat angry.
Han Shizhong then fell silent.
After seeing that Han Shizhong had stopped speaking, Zhu Ying pressed Guo Zhen, the commander of the Imperial Guards, for an answer: "Has this dog emperor of the Song Dynasty been captured?"
Guo Zhen dared not hesitate and quickly said, "Your Highness, I have captured the Emperor of Song. He tried to escape from the palace disguised as a commoner, but I saw him in person."
"Now, this dog emperor of the Song Dynasty is already waiting outside the palace."
Zhu Ying nodded slightly and continued, "Bring this dog emperor of the Song Kingdom up here."
"Your humble servant obeys."
As soon as Guo Zhen finished speaking, Emperor Zhao Gou of the Song Dynasty was escorted to the main hall by several imperial guards.
To be honest, Zhao Gou did not have the same backbone and integrity as Han Shizhong.
When Zhao Gou saw Zhu Ying, he knelt down in front of Zhu Ying with lightning speed.
Then he shouted loudly, "Long live His Highness the Imperial Grandson! Long live His Highness the Imperial Grandson! Please, His Highness the Imperial Grandson, spare my life!"
"If Your Highness agrees, I am willing to hand over the entire empire to you."
Clearly, Zhao Gou at that time knew his power was waning, and all he wanted was to survive. What did imperial power and status matter? He could abandon them all.
However, after Zhao Gou finished speaking, it was Han Shizhong, who was standing to the side, who couldn't hold back anymore.
Han Shizhong looked at Zhao Gou with a shocked expression and said, "Your Majesty, how could you kneel before this grandson of the Ming Emperor? This is an insult to Your Majesty!"
Zhao Gou ignored Han Shizhong's words and even directly berated him, saying, "Shut up! You defeated general, I gave you 30 troops to guard the imperial city, but you let the Ming army break through in less than an hour."
"What right do you have to speak to me? What right do you have to lecture me?"
It can be said that Zhao Gou's ability to shift blame was unparalleled.
In a single sentence, the entire demise of the Song Dynasty was attributed to Han Shizhong.
When Han Shizhong heard Zhao Gou's evaluation of him, he was stunned and didn't know what to do.
At this moment, Zhu Ying, who had remained silent, walked directly in front of Zhao Gou.
The next second, Zhu Ying suddenly raised his right foot and kicked Zhao Gou hard in the face.
"Zhao Gou, as the emperor of the Song Dynasty, you have allowed the Han people to live in misery. This kick of mine is for the condemnation of the people of the world."
"Are you guilty?"
Zhao Gou was completely panicked.
He never expected that this so-called grandson of the Ming emperor would be so unruly, and he never expected that this grandson of the Ming emperor would actually kick him.
However, in order to save his life, Zhao Gou still humbled himself and said to Zhu Ying, "Your Highness is right. My ability to govern the country is indeed mediocre. Now that the Song Kingdom belongs to Your Highness, I beg Your Highness to spare my dog's life."
At that time, Zhao Gou only wanted to live.
Zhu Ying, of course, saw through his mentality.
To be honest, Zhu Ying would rather keep Han Shizhong alive than let Zhao Gou live a life of ignominy.
Zhu Ying coldly addressed Zhao Gou in the main hall: "Things have come to this, you don't need to say anything more, just die."
After saying this, Zhu Ying turned to Guo Zhen, the commander of the Imperial Guards beside him, and said, "Drag this dog emperor away. Cut off his head and hang it on this city wall. Let the people of Song despise him."
"Your subordinate obeys," Guo Zhen replied immediately.
At this moment, Emperor Zhao Gou of the Song Dynasty was completely terrified. He immediately prostrated himself on the ground and frantically kowtowed to Zhu Ying, shouting, "Please spare my life, Your Highness! I still have a secret treasury; I'll give you all the money."
"And my women, all the beauties in my harem belong to Your Highness."
Unfortunately, no matter how much Zhao Gou pleaded, Zhu Ying's attitude was already made up.
"Drag down."
Clearly, Zhu Ying no longer wanted to waste any more words with Zhao Gou.
Immediately, the imperial guards forcibly dragged Zhao Gou outside the main hall, and with a snap, the head of the Song emperor fell to the ground.
And so, the State of Song was completely destroyed.
Not long after, a soldier from the Imperial Guard arrived at the main hall carrying Zhao Gou's head.
"Your Highness, Zhao Gou's head has been cut off. Please dispose of it as you see fit."
"Hang it on the city wall so that the people of Song will understand the consequences of opposing the Ming Empire."
"As ordered."
After dealing with Zhao Gou, Zhu Ying turned his attention to Han Shizhong.
Zhu Ying said in an icy tone, "Han Shizhong, now you should know what kind of person Zhao Gou is, right?"
"To serve such an emperor is nothing but blind loyalty."
"And for this you also lost the lives of 300,000 soldiers."
Faced with Zhu Ying's psychological offensive, Han Shizhong's legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.
It is clear that Han Shizhong was in a state of utter despair.
He had thought that the emperor of Song would be like him, willing to die standing even if his country were to perish.
But what actually happened? In order to save his own life, Zhao Gou didn't even care about the dignity of being an emperor.
This naturally disappointed Han Shizhong considerably.
At this moment, Zhu Ying calmly said to Han Shizhong, "To be honest, you are a good general and very loyal. I admire you quite a bit."
"Alright then, from now on you will pledge allegiance to the Great Ming Empire, and I guarantee that you will definitely become a great general in the future."
To be fair, when Zhu Ying extended an olive branch to Han Shizhong, the great general of the Song Dynasty was indeed somewhat moved.
However, Han Shizhong, bound by the principles of loyalty between ruler and subject, still declined Zhu Ying's invitation.
However, Han Shizhong's tone was much gentler this time than before.
It has lost its former sharpness.
"Your Highness, I am paid by the Song state and receive a salary from the Song state. Moreover, I also obtained my official rank through the Song state examinations."
"Most importantly, my clan is from the State of Song."
"If I were to pledge allegiance to Your Highness, it would be tantamount to betraying my master and ancestors, and violating the proper relationship between ruler and subject."
"This humble general would certainly not dare."
Upon hearing Han Shizhong's words, Zhu Ying did not insist, but instead said to Lan Yu beside him, "Give Han Shizhong some travel expenses."
As soon as Zhu Ying finished speaking, Lan Yu immediately took out several dozen taels of silver from her bosom.
And it was handed to Han Shizhong.
Then, Zhu Ying said to Han Shizhong in an icy tone, "Since you don't want to serve me, then you should retire and return to your hometown."
"These funds are for your travel expenses. Of course, if you wish to change your mind, my Great Ming Empire welcomes you at any time."
To be honest, Han Shizhong never expected that this grandson of the Ming emperor would spare his life.
He immediately knelt before Zhu Ying, accepted the travel expenses, and said, "This humble general thanks Your Highness."
After saying that, Han Shizhong walked straight toward the entrance of the main hall.
After Han Shizhong had walked away, Guo Zhen quickly stepped forward and asked Zhu Ying, "Your Highness, are you really letting Han Shizhong leave? He is a great general of the Song Dynasty! What if he joins forces with the vassal kings of the Song Dynasty to raise an army against us after he leaves? What will Your Highness do then?"
Zhu Ying said with a hint of disdain, "Han Shizhong is a smart man. He knows very well how powerful the Ming Empire is. I believe he will never repeat the same mistake."
after that
Zhu Ying then addressed the generals before him, saying, "Although the capital of Song has been captured, there are still many other cities in Song that have not been taken."
"Therefore, you still need to keep working hard."
"I will give you ten days. After ten days, the entire territory of the Song Kingdom will be conquered."
As soon as Zhu Ying finished speaking, the generals accepted the order.
"Your Highness, I will obey your command. Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will surely conquer the entire territory of the Song Kingdom within ten days."
Then, Zhu Ying said to Liu Lei, the commander of Wang Wei, "Immediately send someone to inform my grandfather and father, who are far away in Dadu, and tell them the specific situation of the Song Kingdom."
"Furthermore, have them immediately ride their pterosaurs to the capital of the Song Kingdom to meet up."
"I intend to make this capital of the Song Dynasty the capital of the Ming Dynasty in this world of martial arts."
As soon as Zhu Ying finished speaking, Liu Lei immediately responded.
"Your humble servant obeys."
A few days later
The Ming Empire's armies, with lightning speed, successively captured various cities of the Song Dynasty.
The Song army suffered a crushing defeat. When they saw the Ming army arrive, they had no ability to resist and their first reaction was to flee.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's army captured the city with almost no effort!
In just five days, the Ming Empire conquered the entire territory of the Song Dynasty.
Meanwhile, in the capital city of Dadu.
Liu Lei, who was in charge of the Wangwei Command, also came riding a pterosaur.
Following Zhu Ying's instructions, Liu Lei quickly informed Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and others about the war in the Song Kingdom.
Upon hearing of Liu Lei's arrival in the main hall, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately summoned him to an audience.
"This humble general Liu Lei pays his respects to Your Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Upon Liu Lei's arrival, he immediately bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.
Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly pressed, "Liu Lei, tell me quickly, how is the war with the Song Kingdom going?"
Without hesitation, Liu Lei reported, "Your Majesty, the capital of the Song Dynasty has been captured by our Great Ming Empire. Furthermore, the emperor of the Song Dynasty has been executed by order of His Highness the Crown Prince."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that the capital of the Song Dynasty had been captured, he was naturally overjoyed.
"Excellent! Excellent! U.A. has certainly not disappointed us!"
Then, Zhu Biao, the crown prince, also praised, "Of course, this is not only Xiong Ying's achievement, but also the achievement of all the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Everyone should be richly rewarded."
At this moment, Liu Lei said to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness the Grandson invites you to the capital of the Song Kingdom. His Highness says that the capital of the Song Kingdom will be the central hub of the Ming Empire in this world of martial arts."
"Very well, in that case, let's set off immediately." Zhu Yuanzhang readily agreed. (End of Chapter)