The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 281 The Source of Looting and Chaos

After the chaos in Kyoto, Japan, Su Mei, Ōtengu, Shuten-dōji, and the old dragon of Tenchi all suddenly gained immense trust in Li Jingxiao.

The four of them took Li Jingxiao to a temple several hundred miles away.

We landed at a market and rested for a day.

It appeared in the air above the target's location at dusk.

Japanese monks, though called monks, are actually not much different from samurai.

The abbot of the temple is more like a daimyo (official title).

Getting married and having children are common occurrences.

The temple not only housed a large number of armed monks, but also ruled over a vast territory.

Li Jingxiao hovered in the air, looking down at the temple that resembled a mountain city.

He could still hear men and women laughing and drinking, and turned to look at Su Mei.

After giving Li Jingxiao a disdainful look, Su Mei smiled and said, "My lord, Japan learns everything from the Central Plains, but only learns three or five tenths of it."

However, to be honest, the Central Plains existed before the Tang Dynasty.

There were also many monks who drank alcohol and ate meat, and during the Eastern Han Dynasty, they were even able to marry and have children.

The reason they now practice vegetarianism and chant Buddhist prayers is simply because they've been beaten and are forced to change.

Li Jingxiao was taken aback. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this was indeed the case.

I couldn't help but shook my head helplessly.

Take a deep breath and exhale a large amount of mist.

Soon, the entire mountaintop was shrouded in mist.

Upon seeing this, the Great Tengu, Shuten-dōji, and the Old Dragon of the Heavenly Pool couldn't help but reveal a ferocious smile.

After bowing to Li Jingxiao, the Great Tengu roared and charged down, killing anyone in sight.

Li Jingxiao took out the Overlord Bow again, specifically targeting the skilled monks for assassination.

Su Mei, that woman, has returned to her life as a master thief. After a great battle, she presented the valuables to Li Jingxiao.

There were 500,000 taels of silver and 70,000 taels of gold alone.

The provisions were enough to feed Li Jingxiao's 10-strong army for half a year.

All of them were collected by Li Jingxiao and stored in the city's warehouse within the game.

The profits are so huge, and you don't even have to lift a finger.

Li Jingxiao's enthusiasm for looting Japanese temples naturally increased.

Within ten days, they traversed thousands of miles and destroyed nine major Japanese temples in succession.

The silver exceeded 400 million taels, and the gold was 21 taels.

The provisions were enough to supply the army for three years.

This also includes rations for 3 warhorses.

And this only includes cash and grain in the warehouse.

A large amount of land, shops, and markets could not be realized; otherwise, the wealth that could be plundered would certainly be two or three times greater.

In an instant, the entire country of Japan was thrown into turmoil.

As a result, the monkey had even less time to lead his army south to attack Tachibana Castle.

Su Mei suddenly became rich and volunteered to go to the Hojo and Takeda families.

They persuaded them to raise an army and attack the monkeys.

Li Jingxiao also took advantage of the break Su Mei needed to make during her visits to several major powers in northern Japan.

They forced those opportunists on Kyushu Island to submit to them.

Incidentally, he also wiped out all the monkey families that had been enfeoffed on Kyushu Island.

The land, cities, and wealth acquired.

Even the women of defeated samurai families were distributed as rewards, as agreed.

In an instant, the morale of the 11-strong army soared.

Several smaller factions had already agreed to submit.

But I'd like to talk about it some more.

In their attempt to secure more and better conditions, the city was breached by surrendered Japanese soldiers, as well as Jurchens and Goryeo people.

These guys are truly bloodthirsty for war merits, land, and wealth.

In particular, more than a dozen people actually got 100 kills.

Three of them were Japanese soldiers who had surrendered.

After being appointed city lord by Li Jingxiao, the surrendered soldiers immediately became even more warlike.

Once they breached a city, they killed everyone they saw and looted everything they could find.

A change of commander would inevitably lead to severe punishment for soldiers and officers who disobey orders.

But Li Jingxiao not only did not punish them, but also after a new city was captured.

Those who are qualified to be city lords will be granted the title on the spot.

The land was also directly granted as a reward.

The morale and fighting capacity of the 11-strong army were soaring.

They conquered the territories and castles of the Nabeshima, Matsuura, Ōmae, Arima, Kato, and Takahashi families along the way.

I heard that all four hundred members of the Nabeshima family were killed.

It has been completely eradicated.

The Otomo, Shimazu, and Mori families were terrified.

They dared not delay negotiating terms any longer.

They directly sent their elders or eldest sons to Tachibana Castle to present a letter of surrender.

Following the advice of his warriors, Li Jingxiao rewarded the meritorious soldiers by giving away the surnames of those whose clans had been exterminated.

And you know what? The Japanese really fall for it.

The warrior, upon being bestowed a name, knelt before him in overwhelming emotion, his eyes filled with tears, and he could barely speak.

Li Jingxiao naturally couldn't understand the Japanese mindset at that time.

But this also made him truly realize why the commanders and generals of the three armies besieged in Goryeo were...

Why would someone rather commit suicide than surrender?

This person truly values ​​their family name more than their own life.

Therefore, when Li Jingxiao negotiated with the Otomo, Shimazu and Mori families, he directly stated that he would retain their family names.

Furthermore, they will not reduce their existing stone height; in fact, they will be given more land if they perform meritorious service.

The envoys from the three families no longer needed to negotiate; they immediately knelt before Li Jingxiao.

News has emerged that Lee Kyung-hyo unified Kyushu and generously distributed land and cities to his warriors, Jurchens, and Goryeo people.

It quickly spread throughout Japan.

Even the Koreans received the news very quickly.

In one day, the King of Goryeo sent three letters of thanks and congratulations.

They also sent envoys with gifts to Tachibana Castle.

However, at this time, the envoy and imperial decree dispatched by Emperor Ryūtoku also arrived at Tachibana Castle.

Li Jingxiao was in the castle tower, looking at Zhou Yanfu, the Grand Eunuch of the Inner Court.

He was with his father-in-law, Jia Zheng, and Du Yi'an, the Vice Minister of Rites.

They immediately guessed the emperor's thoughts.

This is because they are afraid that if they directly conquer Japan, they can become king and hegemon here and never return to the Great Zhou.

To be honest, Li Jingxiao had indeed thought about it.

But in the end, I gave up on the idea.

If he were to become king in Japan, he would inevitably think about how to maintain his rule.

However, if one wants to maintain a long-term rule, one certainly cannot do nothing.

With his vision, which is hundreds of years ahead of this era, he will definitely accelerate the development of Japan.

In a few decades or a couple of centuries, this will likely fuel even greater ambitions in Japan.

Even their own descendants could use returning home as an excuse to attack the Great Zhou.

Therefore, Li Jingxiao reaffirmed that his only goal was to disrupt Japan.
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When Li Jingxiao received the imperial decree, not only did the officials who proclaimed the decree, such as Du Yi'an and Zhou Yanfu, breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

Even Jia Zheng was relieved.

Sometimes, having a son-in-law who is too capable can be a source of worry.

Fortunately, Li Jingxiao, as always, was righteous and would not do anything out of line.

The atmosphere immediately became harmonious.

Moreover, since he was going to delegate power, Li Jingxiao didn't mind delegating more. In any case, his goal wasn't long-term stability, and he didn't care at all whether trouble would arise.

He even hoped that ten or twenty years after the deaths of the monkey and Ieyasu.

Kyushu itself descended into chaos.

Li Jingxiao had been away for more than four months, so he flew back to the capital that very night.

When his two pregnant wives saw him, they were so excited that they cried their eyes out.

Fortunately, one was more than five months pregnant, and the other was more than four months pregnant.

The most dangerous period has passed.

Accompanied by her two wives and concubines, Wang Xifeng briefly recounted some events that had occurred since she led her troops into battle.

Li Jingxiao naturally wouldn't talk about the cruelty of the battlefield, but only about local customs and traditions.

Before they knew it, it was late at night. Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun still wanted to stay close to Li Jingxiao.

It's true that I'm several months pregnant and often feel sleepy.

Li Jingxiao, however, wanted to spend just one night with his two wives to get some rest.

But Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun directly instructed Wang Xifeng to serve him, the master, as he rested.

Wang Xifeng's face flushed slightly, but her phoenix eyes were full of allure.

So they didn't stand on ceremony any longer.

After watching Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun return to their own courtyards, attended by Baozhu, Ruizhu, Baoqin, You Erjie, and You Sanjie.

Li Jingxiao turned around and picked up Wang Xifeng in his arms.

Not long after, Ping'er was called in and joined the poker game.

In just three rounds over three days, the master and servant lost everything, even their underwear.

The two of them were so tired that they fell into a deep sleep.

Li Jingxiao chuckled, got up, and with the help of his two maids, Xiren and Qingwen, washed and dressed.

Then they ran to the courtyard of Sister You Er and Sister You San.

The sisters' faces lit up with joy when they saw him coming.

He inevitably played a few rounds of cards with Li Jingxiao, and lost badly as well.

In the end, the two sisters didn't even know when Li Jingxiao left.

The next morning, after having breakfast with his wives and concubines, Li Jingxiao flew back to Tachibana Castle.

And we even agreed that I'd come back to sleep here again tonight.

Qin Keqing and the others were then relieved.

Li Jingxiao used to travel to Maoshan all the time, and now he's traveling to Japan. It seems there's no difference between them.

When Li Jingxiao returned to Tachibana Castle, Jia Zheng, Du Yi'an, Zhou Yanfu, and the others were unaware that he had returned to the capital the previous night.

I wanted to ask him when he would be departing to return to Beijing to report on his work.

Li Jingxiao asked, "When did the monkey die?"

He would then lead the Tiger Warriors of the Palace Guard and 1 Liaodong soldiers back to the Great Zhou.

As for when the 45,000 Goryeo troops will return to Goryeo.

It all depends on what the King of Goryeo and his ministers think.

Otherwise, if Kyushu were to collapse, the flames of war would surely spread to Goryeo once again.

As for Li Jingxiao himself, he simply said that he had returned to his home in the capital last night.

Moreover, he had breakfast with his wives and concubines at home this morning before returning to Tachibana Castle.

This immediately left Jia Zheng, Du Yi'an, and Zhou Yanfu speechless.

At first, I couldn't believe it, but Li Jingxiao had an expression that said, "Believe it or not, it's up to you."

This made the three of them afraid to ask any more questions, let alone to question him openly.

This is Japan, and the Duke in front of me is the invincible commander-in-chief who commands 110,000 troops and 20,000 Goryeo naval forces.

Questioning him is tantamount to courting death.

Li Jingxiao didn't explain much, and had Jia Rong and a dozen or so sons of noble families come over to accompany the imperial envoy.

I spent a few days strolling and exploring around Tachibana Castle.

What no one expected was...

A few days later, Su Mei suddenly returned with news.

The monkey encountered betrayal from his subordinates at a temple outside Kyoto.

Like Oda Nobunaga before him, he was besieged in a temple on a mountain and killed by his subordinates.

Subsequently, the courtiers in Kyoto began to summon the daimyo of various powerful factions.

They gathered in Kyoto to discuss how to negotiate with the Great Zhou and Goryeo.

Upon hearing this news, Li Jingxiao immediately began to curse.

Then he summoned Shuten-dōji and the old dragon of the Heavenly Pool, and together with Su Mei, he ordered the three of them to kill that old turtle Ieyasu as soon as possible, by whatever means necessary.

Without a second thought, Su Mei and the other two pushed out that guy, Da Tengu.

Let him handle this.

Li Jingxiao doesn't care about the process; he only cares about the result.

Even if the Dragon Princess were willing to submit to the old tortoise's son.

He didn't care that the old turtle would leave behind a grandson and seize the Tokugawa family's territory.

At the end of the Warring States period in Japan, only a handful of people were truly able to unify the country.

Nobunaga, Uesugi Kenshin, Takeda Shingen, and other formidable figures of their time died.

Only the monkey and the turtle remained.

The old tortoise lives a long life, waiting for the monkey to die.

Only the old tortoise has the strength to unify the world.

As soon as the tortoise dies, Honshu Island in Japan will immediately descend into chaos.

It's unknown how many more years it will take to reunify the world.

A month later, Li Jingxiao learned that the old tortoise had died on his way back to his territory from Kyoto.

Only then could they truly extricate themselves from the affairs of Japan and Goryeo.

With Ieyasu's death, war, man-made disasters, and demonic disturbances plunged Japan into chaos once again.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao intentionally pushed Su Mei to the forefront.

This woman is indeed extremely capable, but when a woman is in power, no matter how capable she is, she is a source of chaos.

It wasn't that no one had tried to persuade Li Jingxiao, but Li Jingxiao wanted chaos.

The messier the better.

Even if Su Mei eventually leads her army to conquer the capital, it will only be a short-lived peace.

No Japanese general or daimyo would willingly remain subservient to a woman forever.

Before we knew it, three months had passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Li Jingxiao was in his villa outside the city, taking a walk in the garden corridor with his two wives, whose bellies were already as big as round balls.

Qin Keqing and Yuan Chun had no doubt about Li Jingxiao's advice that to have a smooth delivery, one should move around more.

In addition, Li Jingxiao escaped from the war in Japan.

Although I still fly back to Japan every now and then to spend a few days there.

The rest of the time, he basically stays at home.

Whenever he appears at Tachibana Castle, all the major and minor factions in Kyushu Island will resolve their conflicts privately.

If it really can't be resolved, just report it to Li Jingxiao and let him decide.

Su Mei and Quan Zhili became his spokespeople on Kyushu Island.

Back in his home in the capital, Li Jingxiao either cultivated his skills or spent time chatting and taking walks with Qin Keqing, Yuan Chun, his other concubines, and the three Jingxi sisters.

Today, as usual, after lunch, I took a few laps along the long corridor of the villa garden.

Baozhu, Ruizhu, Baoqin, and You Erjie were helping Qin Keqing and Yuanchun.

There's no need to worry about them accidentally falling.

Moreover, although the two women were pregnant, their internal strength and lightness skills remained intact.

It's practically impossible for him to fall.

As she walked, Qin Keqing, who had been chatting and laughing just moments before, suddenly felt a pain in her stomach.

His hands unconsciously clasped together, supporting his precious pearl and auspicious pearl.

The pain from the grip was so intense that Baozhu and Ruizhu almost cried out.

Then Qin Keqing exclaimed, "My lord, hurry, hurry, I think I'm about to give birth!"

(End of this chapter)