"Second Lieutenant Puyi! Lead your platoon to Point 5 immediately and report to Major Kurita."

"Yes!" After answering, Second Lieutenant Puyi immediately signaled his troops to head straight for the designated position. As a probationary officer from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, Puyi's obedience to orders was now almost conditioned reflex. But leading his platoon straight to the destination, a sense of absurdity arose in Puyi's heart again.

When he was studying at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, the Japanese government hid Puyi's identity. The Osaka Division where Puyi interned only knew that Puyi was a Chinese international student. The Future Society believed that since he was a Chinese international student, he belonged to the forces that could be united. They were completely unaware that among Puyi's purposes for studying in Japan, a considerable part of his emotion was wanting to overthrow the He Rui regime.

Point 5 was located near the middle of the left wing of the Japanese Revolutionary Army attacking Sakuradamon. Seeing Puyi arrive with his team, Major Kurita arranged Puyi in the second echelon of infantry. If the first echelon suffered heavy losses in the attack, Puyi's platoon in the second echelon would have to take over from the first echelon and launch an attack on the defenders on the Sakuradamon wall.

Seeing his troops were in place, Major Kurita shouted to his subordinates, 'The enemy is inside Sakuradamon!'

'The enemy is inside Sakuradamon!' Puyi raised his arm and shouted along with the Japanese comrades beside him, feeling a mixture of emotions in his heart. After completing his campus studies at the Academy, Puyi was assigned to the Osaka Division for internship. Since the entire Osaka Division chose to join Ishiwara's camp, the purge within the Osaka Division proceeded very smoothly.

Puyi himself had rich life experience. A young man in his twenties had his own backbone; Puyi didn't want to request security protection from the He Rui government. In order not to be killed by those angry soldiers intending to overthrow the current government, Puyi had to state 'I am willing to participate in the revolution'. Because of Puyi's identity as a Chinese cadet, he naturally became a member of the Revolutionary Army.

Before Puyi could find time to escape, the Osaka Division set off for Tokyo as a formed unit, and Puyi didn't even have a chance to escape along the way. Thus, the forced-to-abdicate former Emperor of China participated in the military action to overthrow the Japanese regime as a member of the Japanese Revolutionary Army.

Commanding troops in combat required high concentration. Since the battle began, Puyi actually forgot to escape. It wasn't until he led the troops to the front of Sakuradamon that Puyi had time to consider his position.

As an international student and probationary second lieutenant, Puyi indeed saw the miserable current situation in Japan. Destitute, without clothes or food, starving to death on the streets, selling sons and daughters, hanging themselves. Even officers who seemingly had security were miserable; going to buy sex, one actually encountered his younger sister who had been sold into a brothel. The officer, suffering from intense stimulation, committed suicide after returning to the barracks.

As a fairly educated youth, the content of the "Outline for Japan's Future Reformation" proposed by the Future Society was not difficult for Puyi to understand. These young Japanese soldiers who accepted the "Outline for Japan's Future Reformation" believed that as long as they took the He Rui regime as a teacher, Japan could also obtain the same liberation.

As a person who had been an Emperor, as a person who was driven off the stage by the Xinhai Revolution and then driven out of the Imperial Palace by He Rui, Puyi was very resistant to subjects attacking the imperial court and the imperial family. Puyi always believed that the Qing court genuinely didn't want the country to reach such a terrible state, so the Qing court being overthrown was actually quite unjust.

Personally participating in this Japanese revolution, Puyi suddenly understood. No matter what the imperial court said, the court always made the people bear the responsibility and results. Compared with the pain endured by the people, the court's pain was not worth mentioning in terms of quality or quantity.

When the people figured out that the current regime was the source of their pain and threat of death, all the people's thoughts naturally condensed into one sentence: 'The enemy is inside Sakuradamon!'

Although he held a grudge about losing his throne, Puyi was quite interested in the destruction of the Japanese Imperial Family. In a sense, if the First Sino-Japanese War hadn't occurred, Puyi might very likely still be his Emperor now. Even if he couldn't kill the Japanese Emperor with his own hands, witnessing the Japanese Emperor being overthrown with his own eyes made Puyi willing to witness this scene as a frontline officer of the Japanese Revolutionary Army.

At this time, searchlights suddenly lit up above Sakuradamon. The officers and soldiers of the Japanese Revolutionary Army outside the Imperial Palace immediately began to take cover instinctively. The Imperial Palace Guard officers and soldiers on top of the wall did not take this opportunity to launch an attack; the searchlights only illuminated the road in front of Sakuradamon. Someone on Sakuradamon shouted down with a megaphone, "People below, do you know that you have disturbed the Emperor?"

Hearing just this sentence, Puyi couldn't help being stunned; emotions mixed with disdain and emotion arose spontaneously. Imperial power of course had to be able to bend and stretch; otherwise, the Chinese Emperor would have no reason to issue a penitential decree. But this stalling tactic by the person on Sakuradamon was too clumsy.

Immediately, he heard the person on Sakuradamon continue to shout, "If you have any requests, you can send representatives to appeal. If what you say makes sense, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal will also convey it to His Majesty the Emperor, asking His Majesty to summon your representatives for an audience. Acting wantonly like this, if the citizens knew, they would certainly think you are coercing the Emperor, not acting for the country!"

Puyi felt these words were truly uninteresting. The Manchus had more finesse in these aspects than Japan, but was it useful in the end?

However, Puyi also saw that quite a few people among the surrounding officers and soldiers indeed seemed to be moved, and the previous momentum of forging ahead sharply was weakened a lot. He couldn't help being surprised; was the pressure of the Japanese Imperial Family, which had continued for more than two thousand years, so effective?

However, a moment later, an officer shouted loudly, "Future Society comrades in each unit, explain to your unit!"

The company Puyi was in quickly gathered its platoons. Future Society members within the company ran to everyone and asked loudly, "Does everyone still remember the Sakuradamon Incident?"

As soon as this was said, Puyi's heart shivered. For China, the Sakuradamon Incident was similar to the Gongche Shangshu movement. A group of university students loyal to the Japanese Imperial Family came to kneel and beg the Emperor, but it was useless; the students were instead killed and wounded by unidentified men in black. Since the Future Society member mentioned this, Puyi understood that the Future Society was fully prepared.

However, the officers and soldiers in the Japanese Revolutionary Army didn't have Puyi's experience. Hearing about the Sakuradamon Incident, they were all stunned. The Future Society member continued to ask loudly, "University students knelt and begged for several hours, but there was no reaction from inside the Palace. We are just commoners; coming this time, why would the Palace send the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal out to talk?"

The officers and soldiers held their breath. They actually had thoughts too, but didn't dare to say them at this moment. The Future Society cadre decisively pointed out the reason, "Because we fought our way here with weapons in hand! Those people know that students can be blocked and can be killed. But we cannot be blocked, cannot be killed! If you really want to hear the Emperor's views, comrades, please continue to fight, breach Sakuradamon, and kill your way into the Imperial Palace. At that time, no one can stop us from asking the Emperor the question! That question is, who is to be responsible for the current situation!"

Puyi sighed slightly in his heart. Li Zicheng's army asked this question before arriving at the Imperial Palace, and Chongzhen hanged himself on Coal Hill. Yuan Shikai and others asked this question to the Manchu Imperial Family, and the Manchu Imperial Family announced abdication. Looking at Japan through Chinese history, once the Japanese Revolutionary Army arrived before the Japanese Emperor and asked this question, the Japanese Imperial Family would have a similar result.

Hearing the question raised by the Future Society cadres, the original intention of participating in this revolution immediately overwhelmed the habit of viewing the Japanese Emperor as a living god. Someone immediately shouted, "The enemy is inside Sakuradamon!" Other officers and soldiers shouted along with him, and the slightly affected morale condensed again.

At this time, the 150mm heavy artillery had arrived. The Revolutionary Army artillery commander didn't delay at all and ordered immediately, "Fire!"

The barrier in front of Sakuradamon was built of sandbags. In an instant, under the bombardment of 150mm heavy artillery, it turned into powder along with the Imperial Guards inside the barrier. The 150mm cannon immediately adjusted its muzzle and began to bombard the wall beside Sakuradamon.

The Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal on the wall thought his shouting just now had worked. As the shell hit the wall, the Lord Keeper felt as if he was standing on the back of a galloping wild horse; the wall under his feet vibrated violently. Unsteady on his feet, the Lord Keeper fell directly on the top of the wall. Although the 150mm shell failed to shatter the wall immediately, the shockwave generated by the impact of the shell and the wall passed into the bodies of the officers and soldiers on the wall through the material medium. The wave energy impacted the muscles and internal organs of everyone on the wall. Some soldiers fell to the ground because their muscles went limp. Officers and soldiers with weaker internal organs were even shaken until they vomited blood.

At least half of the officers and soldiers felt their heads buzzing. Before they could recover, 150mm shells continuously impacted the wall of Sakuradamon like meteors. The Lord Keeper wanted to stand up, but his limbs felt as if they had been electrocuted; waves of numbness made him very weak. Finally, the Lord Keeper felt a sweetness in his throat, and fresh blood spurted out onto the cracking ground of the wall.

Okamura, having experienced hundreds of battles, felt something was wrong and began to flee from the wall top. Although the ground of the square behind Sakuradamon was also trembling, compared with the impact felt on the wall top, it was not in the same magnitude at all. Okamura dared not stay any longer and ran quickly towards the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace. He had to bring news to the high officials in the inner courtyard; before long, they would have to face the ferocious Revolutionary Army personally.

The main gate of Sakuradamon was very thick and heavy, but facing 150mm artillery shells, it was like rotten wood. It completely shattered after being hit directly by just two high-explosive shells. The Revolutionary Army of the first echelon had already charged up shouting. Every officer and soldier had fixed bayonets on their rifles. From the moment they stepped out to charge, they knew they were about to face cruel hand-to-hand combat.

The Imperial Palace Guard also knew that their numbers could absolutely not stop tens of thousands of enemy troops, but they still shouted the slogan 'Long Live the Emperor, Banzai' and set up the last line of defense on the road from Sakuradamon to the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace.

In the past few decades, the Imperial Palace Guard had always been told that they were the last line of defense. As long as one of them was still alive, the enemy could not rush to the Emperor. For this reason, the Imperial Palace Guard had the strictest discipline and enjoyed treatment far higher than other Army officers and soldiers. These Imperial Palace Guard officers and soldiers didn't want to die, but at this moment they didn't know what choice they had other than to fight.

Roars and screams resounded through the passage. Many Imperial Palace Guard officers and soldiers, even if stabbed by the bayonets of Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers, would plunge their bayonets into the opponent's chest before dying. But compared with the Revolutionary Army, the number of Imperial Palace Guards was too small. A moment later, the Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers had killed all the Imperial Guards blocking the passage, and they rushed straight to the next gate like a flood.

The gate leading to the inner courtyard was tightly closed. Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers blew open the gate with explosive packs and rushed into the next courtyard. There was another batch of Imperial Palace Guards in the courtyard. The fierce battle ended within 15 minutes. Stepping over the corpses all over the ground, the Revolutionary Army rushed to the third gate. As the explosion sounded, the gate collapsed with a crash.

Unlike the previous passages and courtyards, many electric lights in this courtyard were on. Under the illumination of the lights, quite a few people stood in front of an exquisite main hall. These people had no rifles or weapons in their hands. They just stood there, as if trying to block the flood composed of Japanese Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers with their flesh and blood.

This scene made the Japanese Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers, who had been fighting bravely, feel somewhat unadapted. Since the other side had no intention of using force, the Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers didn't launch a slaughter immediately either, but gathered at a distance of a dozen meters from the other side.

At this time, Second Lieutenant Puyi also rushed in with the second echelon troops. He saw the chests and shoulders of those people in front of the main hall; various medals and rank insignias shone under the lights. These medals and rank insignias were displaying their identities as either generals or high officials.

A man walked out from among these high officials at this time. He shouted loudly, "I am Army Minister Shirakawa Yoshinori! You came here; isn't it to state your request to the Emperor? If you go any further, you will disturb the Sacred Palanquin (the Emperor)!"

Second Lieutenant Puyi's heart was beating fiercely after such a run. Shirakawa Yoshinori's words sounded only ridiculous to Puyi, whose blood was boiling. The Revolutionary Army killed so many people and rushed here precisely to disturb the Japanese Emperor. Shirakawa Yoshinori dared to make such noise at this time; he should just be shot dead.

But the Japanese soldiers stopped amidst such shouts. The hearts of the officers and soldiers were once again restricted by traditions of more than two thousand years, and for a moment they didn't know what to do.

At this time, an angry shout came from the entrance: "Comrades, arrest these national traitors!"

Hearing the two words 'national traitors', the Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers immediately regained their vitality. Everyone shouted and rushed up, two holding down one, and in a moment controlled the civil and military high officials and took them aside.

Okamura was one of them. He didn't resist, nor did he curse like other high officials. With the situation at this point, Okamura placed all expectations on Ishiwara. Okamura believed Ishiwara just wanted to seize power completely, putting the Emperor under house arrest and monopolizing power. Now Nagata should be dead, and many high officials would also die. But Ishiwara didn't need to kill all high officials. Even if just to buy horse bones with a thousand gold (to show value for talent), keeping a person like Okamura would be of great benefit for Ishiwara to grasp power.

At this time, an old man wearing a gorgeous uniform walked out of the main hall. He seemed not to see those captured high officials in front of him, only stopping at the entrance of the main hall. Two men wearing court dress followed behind him. Generally speaking, nobles wearing court dress rarely appeared in front of ordinary people. Two appearing at once at this time proved that inside the main hall were the Emperor and members of the Imperial Family.

The old man said loudly, "I am Saionji Kinmochi. Please ask Lieutenant General Ishiwara to come see me."

Hearing Saionji Kinmochi's name, the officers and soldiers finally stopped their actions. Compared with those notorious Meiji meritorious officials, Saionji Kinmochi's reputation was much better. The Japanese public and officers and soldiers knew that Saionji Kinmochi advocated democratic constitutionalism and was not of the same ilk as other powerful elites.

All officers stepped forward and saluted, "Excellency Saionji, please step aside. We want to go in."

Saionji remained immovable and answered politely, "If you want to go in, either let Lieutenant General Ishiwara come to see me, or step over my corpse."

After speaking, Saionji drew a pistol, showing absolutely no intention of stepping aside.

Tonight, the Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers had already killed too many braver enemies. Compared with those enemies, the 70-something old man Saionji, even holding a pistol, posed absolutely no threat in the eyes of the young Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers.

But out of respect, the officers and soldiers only surrounded the main hall but didn't rush in. A moment later, a small squad of people passed through the ranks of the Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers and walked up to Saionji. The leading Ishiwara raised his hand to salute Saionji, "Excellency, I am here. I demand to enter the main hall!"