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

Chapter 703: Hurt Tianhe, but not Li Che! (Part 2)

When these words were spoken, even the generals who were used to seeing mountains of corpses and seas of blood could not help but gasp.

Using corpses... as siege weapons?

Wen Zaiyin's face turned pale. The Confucian official could no longer hold back and advised in a trembling voice:

"Your Highness! This... this may be detrimental to the harmony of nature and may even lead to the spread of an epidemic..."

Hearing this, Li Che sneered and said, "What I want is the fall of Hiroshima. If the plague can help me, then it is a good plague."

"Although this plan hurts Tianhe, it won't hurt me, Li Che!"

Wen Zaiyin hesitated for a moment, and was about to persuade him again, but was interrupted by Li Che's sharp voice:

"Follow the order! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Li Che's attitude was firm and no one dared to question it anymore.

In fact, he also knew that Wen Zaiyin's reason for advising him was not for any noble cause, but more because he was afraid of damaging his own reputation.

But now the Fengtian Army is alone and deep in the enemy's territory. If they attack every city by force, I don't know how many Fengtian Army soldiers will die.

Li Che would rather bear the infamy of being a killer and a poisonous king than let the Fengtian Army soldiers sacrifice in vain.

Besides, this vicious scheme doesn't seem so vicious when used on ordinary people.

Soon, simple catapults were assembled.

The craftsmen of the Dongfeng Army are all masters with superb engineering skills. They are good at handling artillery, not to mention primitive siege weapons such as catapults.

The hastily collected Japanese corpses were tied into balls and loaded onto catapults.

The wind at the end of August brought a hint of coolness, but it could not blow away the strong and disgusting stench of corpses in the air.

A group of Fengtian Army soldiers tied cloth on their faces to cover their mouths and noses, and went forward to operate the catapults.

With the teeth-grinding squeak of the winch, the taut rope suddenly loosened.

Puff—puff—puff—

Groups of "bombs" emitting a foul smell and flowing with dirty blood, with dull sounds of breaking through the air, drew parabolas in the air.

The 'shell' flew over the low walls of Hiroshima Castle and slammed into the city!

Some of them hit the street, splashing a pool of filthy blood, mud and broken flesh and bones; some hit the roof, smashing the tiles and rolling into the terrified crowd; some even hit the defenders standing on the city wall directly.

Immediately, bursts of screams were heard from all over the city:

"what--"

"It's...it's a corpse!"

"Damn it! The Fengtian Army threw dead bodies in here!"

"Amaterasu! Devils! They are devils!!!"

"Matsushita, the one thrown in seems to be your second uncle..."

"Second uncle!!!"

The Japanese troops in the city instantly fell into extreme panic. The double impact of vision and smell, coupled with the deep-rooted fear of the corpses of their own kind, completely crushed their will.

The defenders' formation was in chaos, and the people cried and fled in all directions, trying to avoid their "fellow creatures" who fell from the sky.

However, Li Che did not rush to order an attack. Instead, he let the catapults continue firing and returned to the camp to sleep.

Three days later, the city had fallen into absolute chaos and all order in the city was gone.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the city, the Fengtian Army's vanguard infantry launched another fierce attack.

This time, there was almost no decent resistance when climbing the ladder.

When the first Fengtian Army soldier jumped onto the top of the city wall, all he saw was a mess on the ground.

The frantic escape of the Japanese, the scattered limbs and arms, the stench of decay in the air...

Hiroshima Castle was declared fallen.

After the city was broken, the Fengtian Army did not enter the city on a large scale.

Li Che ordered a small number of troops to be fully armed, wearing masks and protective clothing, and march into the city first.

After entering the city, you don’t need to do anything else but set fire!

There is no need to preserve this city that has been contaminated by corpses.

Plague is a double-edged sword that hurts others and oneself. Li Che does not want the Fengtian Army soldiers to enter this city.

Just destroy the city and keep the subsequent food supply routes open.

Hiroshima City was eventually reduced to ashes in flames, returning to the fate it should have been.

. . . . . .

In September, autumn begins to deepen.

The Fengtian Army's offensive was directed towards Okayama Castle, which was built along the river and had relatively low terrain.

This time, Li Che didn't even let the catapult waste energy.

After all, China has a 5,000-year history of war, and what it has no shortage of are vicious plots and schemes to wipe out entire families.

Li Che also didn't want to make the floor dirty every time, which was both dirty and unhygienic.

He stood on a high place, overlooking the abundant river outside Okayama City, his eyes cold.

After a moment, Li Che only uttered two words:

"Dig the embankment."

This time, no one spoke to persuade him, not even Wen Zaiyin.

Compared to throwing bodies at the city, a water attack doesn't sound so cruel.

But it was just hearsay. When everyone saw with their own eyes what happened to Okayama Castle next, they realized that the destructive power of water was far beyond their imagination.

Tens of thousands of Fengtian Army soldiers picked up tools and turned into a digging army.

Under the command of the engineers, they wielded shovels and hoes and dug frantically at the weakest part of the riverbank.

The huge gap was quickly opened, and the muddy river water rushed towards the lower Okayama Castle like a broken dragon, carrying mud, sand and broken wood.

The flood became a battering ram in Li Che's hands!

The walls of Okayama Castle collapsed like paper under the impact of the huge waves.

The raging flood instantly poured into the city, engulfing the streets and submerging houses.

Countless Japanese struggled in vain and sank in the water, their cries drowned out by the deafening sound of the water.

The Fengtian Army musketeers sailed downstream in small boats, coldly shooting any struggling life on the water surface where debris and corpses were floating.

When the flood receded, all that was left was a devastated ruin and a pile of swollen and pale corpses.

At least one ruin remains of Hiroshima Castle, but Okayama Castle has been completely wiped off the map.

. . . . . .

In mid-September, the Fengtian Army arrived at the city of Sanda.

Li Che looked at the map and found that this city was the closest big city to Kyoto.

However, the city is located on a high ground and is surrounded by dense forests, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

This time, Li Che did not attempt any direct attack.

He rode his horse around the lush forest outside the city, and then leisurely returned to the army.

"It's late autumn, the weather is dry," he said calmly to Wang Sanchun beside him, "Set fire to this forest and burn it clean."

Wang Sanchun hesitated for a moment: "Your Highness, this wind direction..."

He had studied with Yang Zhongsi for such a long time that he knew a lot about military tactics and understood that the most important factor in a fire attack was the wind direction.

"It's okay." Li Che's voice was firm. "Burn! The brighter the better!"

The fire was ignited.

The dry autumn day, coupled with the kerosene deliberately spread by the Fengtian Army soldiers, caused the fire to instantly rise into the sky.

The strong wind fueled the power of the flames, and the raging fire was like an angry red beast, madly devouring all combustible things!

Flames licked the sky and thick smoke blocked out the sun.

The wind direction was just as Li Che said. Driven by the strong wind, the raging fire dragon greedily pounced on the wooden walls and houses of Sanda City!

The reason why this happened so smoothly was naturally calculated by the Japanese priestesses under Li Che.

The Japanese troops and civilians in the city looked at the sea of ​​fire that was surging like a tidal wave in horror, and tried desperately to put out the fire.

However, human power seems so insignificant in the face of the power of heaven and earth.

Sparks rained down on the city, setting fire to roofs, haystacks, and anything combustible.

Sanda Castle turned into a huge furnace.

Sharp screams rose from the city, and countless Japanese rolled and wailed in the flames, eventually turning into charcoal.

The city walls collapsed under the scorching heat, and after a day and a night of horrific burning, the entire city turned into a charred ruin with wisps of blue smoke rising from it.

Several witches stood outside the city, looking at the dead city in front of them that looked like charcoal, their eyes wandering and losing focus.

Although they were not the ones who started the fire, they were undoubtedly accomplices.

Li Che praised them with satisfaction, gave them a slap in the face, which was their favorite, and then ordered the soldiers to keep the witches under guard.

There are also substantial rewards. In today's Fengtian Army, being able to survive as a Japanese is already the biggest reward.

Li Che led his generals and rode slowly through the ruins that emitted a pungent smell of burnt and barbecued meat.

Wen Zaiyin had already turned pale and was staggering on his horse, as if he would faint at any moment.

Xue Wei's face looked extremely ugly, and his stomach was churning.

Even the most courageous Khitan general, Yelu He, subconsciously tightened the reins to keep his horse away from the hellish scene.

Even the personal guards such as Qiu Bai looked at the tall figure in front of them with an indescribable awe in their eyes.

During this period, the Fengtian Army generals' attitude towards Li Che was more respect than awe.

After all, Li Che is really good to his own people, and his emotions are very stable. He has never involved anyone around him because of his anger.

Li Che has no need to worry about the saying that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger.

The generals knew that their lord was a skilled warrior with extraordinary wisdom and strategy.

But until now, they have never truly seen...

How terrifying it would be when His Highness put aside all scruples and used the most sinister and vicious strategies in China's thousands of years of history and applied them on a real battlefield.

Water attack, fire attack, corpse plague...

These are no longer cold words in history books, but are happening right before our eyes.

Li Che seemed unaware of the fearful gazes of the generals behind him.

He reined in his horse and stopped in front of the ruins of Sanda Castle, his gaze piercing through the curling green smoke and looking towards the skyline further east.

There is the heart of Japan - Kyoto.

"Haibu Zongzhen, His Excellency Tianhuang." Li Che smiled lightly and said softly, "It's almost time."