The great fire inside the city did not die down until dusk. Of the more than 500,000 soldiers, not a single one survived; even Marshal Feng had taken his own life.
Early the next morning, I ordered my men to clear the battlefield. In truth, there wasn't much to clear—just the armor. The men had been burned until only charred bone fragments remained. Since they refused to surrender, I had hardened my heart and burned them all to ash. Had I let them pass, my own people would have died. Between letting my own people die or letting others die, I chose to sacrifice the others without a moment's hesitation—and they were enemies, at that.
By the afternoon, envoys from the Zhen Dynasty and the Mie Imperial Dynasty arrived. We went out to receive them. In the past, they would have stayed outside the gates and refused to enter, and I could have pretended not to see them. But since they were now entering with such fanfare, I—being a subordinate dynasty—had to pay them my respects.
Chapter 290