At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

Wanhu City, government office.

By order of Ryunosuke, the captain Fujiwara Saku, who was guarding Manhu Castle, was sitting in a grand chair with his legs propped up on the table in front of him, looking relaxed and carefree.

In his hand he held a jade ruyi scepter, its entire body emerald green, with exquisite cloud patterns carved on the head and a faded red rope tied to the tail.

He held the ruyi scepter up to his eyes, examined it against the light for a while, then placed it in his palm to weigh it, before grinning and saying:

"Tsk tsk, the people of Daqian really know how to enjoy life."

"This stone, polished to such a smooth and exquisite finish, is truly a pleasure to hold and admire."

He then placed the Ruyi on the table and picked up a small silver incense burner from the corner of the table. The lid of the burner was carved with a lotus scroll pattern, and the body of the burner was already a bit black, but the silver light still flowed faintly in the depths of the pattern.

He looked at it over and over a few times, rubbed the inscription on the bottom of the furnace with his thumb, and then put it back on the table.

"Look at all these things they have. Any one of them could buy us a house in the capital of Dongyi."

As he spoke, Fujiwara Saku pointed to the scattered gold and silver antiques, as if he were appraising some rare treasures.

A smile, tinged with greed, played on his lips.

Several captains stood on either side of the table, quietly watching Fujiwara Saku play with the gold, silver and jade artifacts.

"What you say is true, sir. The Jiangnan region of the Great Qian Dynasty truly lives up to its reputation."

A captain echoed this with a broad smile.

"Once the army marches into the heart of Jiangnan, the real treasures will probably be ten or a hundred times more plentiful than here."

Another captain chimed in, "You can take whatever gold and silver you want, and all those women from Jiangnan..."

"Hehe, I heard that the women around Jinling City are very beautiful, with skin so tender that you could squeeze water out of it."

"Don't rush, don't rush. The commander is currently attacking Ninghai City. Haizhou City has already been captured. Can Jiangnan be far behind?"

Fujiwara Saku tried on a white jade thumb ring on his thumb, then took it off and threw it back on the table, his voice filled with an unwavering determination.

"Once the army enters Jiangnan, all those things will be ours."

"Whatever you want, we have it!"

Several captains echoed in unison, their laughter reverberating in the main hall of the government office, like a pack of hungry wolves drooling over a piece of fat meat.

Just then, a series of hurried and unsteady footsteps came from outside the door.

A messenger stumbled into the government office. He was still wearing his armor, but the plates were crooked, his helmet was nowhere to be seen, and his hair was disheveled and stuck to his forehead. He looked utterly disheveled.

He knelt down on one knee as soon as he entered, urgently reporting, "Lord Fujiwara! Something terrible has happened!"

Fujiwara Saku put his legs down, sat up straight, and his brows furrowed sharply: "What is it?"

The messenger looked up and replied, "Ninghai City... is lost."

"Generals Otomo Tetsumaru and Murakami Kaito have been killed in action, and the commander-in-chief and strategist... have been captured. Our tens of thousands of troops in Ninghai City have been completely wiped out."

Upon hearing this, the once bustling main hall immediately fell silent.

Fujiwara Saku froze on the spot, taking a deep breath.

It took me a long time to recover.

"What did you say? An army of 50,000, completely wiped out?"

"Even the commander-in-chief and strategist have been arrested?"

The messenger nodded vigorously, his voice still tinged with fear.

"It's absolutely true, the banner of the Great Qian Dynasty has already been raised over Ninghai City."

"I also personally witnessed the commander-in-chief and strategist being captured in the water by the Daqian soldiers when they were retreating by water from the south gate of Ninghai City!"

"If I hadn't hidden myself well, I probably wouldn't have survived to come back and deliver the message to you."

Fujiwara Saku suddenly stood up from the armchair.

Meanwhile, several captains were already in an uproar.

"All 50,000 troops are gone? What do we do now?"

"Wanhu City only has three thousand garrison troops left, and Zhenhai Pass has no more than two thousand, totaling only five thousand! If the Daqian army attacks..."

"Even the commander-in-chief has been arrested, what are we still guarding?"

"Run! Run before the Daqian army has finished resting!"

"Yes! Go back to Dongyi! As long as we live, we'll live..."

Fujiwara Saku turned around abruptly, his gaze sweeping over the captains who were still discussing, and said decisively, "You're right, we have to go."

The captains fell silent and looked at him.

Fujiwara Saku's gaze returned to the gold and silver antiques on the table. He reached out and picked up the jade ruyi, rubbed it in his palm, and then clenched it tightly, revealing a fierce expression.

"You can leave, but you can't leave empty-handed."

His lips curled up slightly, revealing a sinister and greedy smile.

"Pass on my order: immediately begin the massacre of the city."

"Ran everything of value from Wanhu City."

"Take all that can be carried away, including gold, silver, bronze, silk, and grain. Burn what you can't carry. Don't leave a single copper coin for the people of Daqian."

"At the same time, send someone by fast horse to Zhenhaiguan, instructing them to do the same."

"After looting, board the ship immediately and return to Dongyi overnight!"

The captains exchanged glances, their fear gradually replaced by greed.

Someone laughed first: "The sir is right! We've come all this way, we can't go back empty-handed!"

"What we've looted is enough to feed us for years!"

"Let's go! Let's get started!"

They turned and rushed out of the government office, each leading a squad of soldiers, like wild beasts released from their cages, pouncing on every street and every household in Wanhu City.

The twilight in Wanhu City was illuminated by firelight.

Shops on both sides of the street were kicked open, their doors slamming to the ground with a dull thud.

The cloth was dragged out in bundles, piled up on the street, and then trampled on and dragged toward the dock.

Deep in the alley, from a low, earthen house came the sounds of a woman crying and a child sobbing as if being suffocated.

Several Dongyi soldiers broke down the door and searched the room for a while. They pulled out a few strings of copper coins hidden at the bottom of the rice jar, kicked open an old wooden box in the corner of the room, and took the only neatly folded silk garment inside.

The young woman holding the child huddled in the corner, tears streaming down her face, biting her lip tightly, afraid to make a sound.

As the Dongyi soldiers were leaving, they glanced back and saw that a silver bracelet on the woman's wrist was still gleaming. They turned back and ripped it off, tearing the skin and flesh, leaving a bloody mark on her wrist.

A pharmacy across the street was also looted; the herbs on the counter and in the drawers were dumped on the ground, mixed together, and trampled to pieces.

The shopkeeper behind the counter was pushed to the ground, his forehead hitting the threshold, and blood flowed down his nose.

He struggled to get up, but a Dongyi soldier stabbed him in the shoulder with a backhand stroke, pinning him to the door panel, where he could not move.

His wife rushed out from the back room, but before she could even shout, another Dongyi soldier kicked her back inside. The door slammed shut, and a dull thud and cries came from inside.

Even more horrifyingly, after looting, these people went on a massacre.

Then a fire was set on fire, setting the houses in the city ablaze.

"We must leave nothing for the people of Daqian; burn them all."

"Hahaha!"

"Go to hell, you big-time dog!"

The fire spread from the east to the west of the city, and thick smoke covered half the sky.

Cries, screams, and the sounds of burning houses mingled together, shrouding the entire city in horrifying fear.

At the dock, several large ships were already fully loaded.

The deck was piled high with boxes, bundles, and cloth bags, containing gold and silver utensils, silk fabrics, copper coins and ironware that had not been counted in time, and even a few paintings and calligraphy that had been hastily rolled up.

Fujiwara Saku stood at the bow of the boat, still clutching the jade ruyi in his arms.

He gazed at the burning city before him, a smug smile on his lips. He brought the silver wine jug to his lips, took a sip, and then put it down.

"We'll set sail once the move is complete."

"The people from Zhenhaiguan should set off soon. Let them catch up on their own; we can't wait any longer."

A captain ran over from the dock, climbed onto the deck, and said with a satisfied smile, "Sir, everything has been loaded, and the city has been completely slaughtered."

Fujiwara Saku nodded, tapping the deck lightly twice with the tip of his boot: "Then let's set sail and head back to Dongyi."

The sails were raised and the mooring lines were untied.

Several large ships slowly left the shore, their bows cleaving the water, which was reddened by the firelight, and headed towards the East China Sea.

The fleet sailed into the depths of night, leaving only the fires of Wanhu City still burning...