The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Chapter 231 Capturing the Emperor

Although all the spoils of war of the new army had to be handed over, a portion would then be distributed by higher authorities based on each soldier's merits.

However, some small items can still be kept, and the returned spoils are quite substantial. It's much better than mopping up the remaining Japanese troops here!

Military orders are absolute, and no one dared to utter a sound! But Chen San, who was clearly unhappy, didn't look too pleased; he kept a stern face the whole way. The soldiers had to be careful what they said.

He still wanted to get some rare gadgets for his son! Thinking of his four-year-old son, Chen San's expression softened considerably.

"Japanese troops!" A soldier in front shouted a warning, interrupting Chen San's thoughts.

"Company commander, there was a Japanese soldier spying up there. I spotted him, and he's gone back now," the soldier said, pointing to a grove of trees.

"Be careful, skirmish formation, advance in search formation!" Chen San waved his hand, directing the soldiers to surround the enemy.

"Your Majesty, get up quickly! The Chinese are here!" The head guard rushed to Muren and said.

"Ah! Good!" Muren subconsciously stood up, and several guards hurriedly went to help the Empress and several princes.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out. The Chinese army arrived very quickly; Muren and his group hadn't even gotten up yet. The searching Chinese troops were already in front of them, and one of the guards on guard duty couldn't help but fire, hitting one of the searching soldiers.

When the other Japanese guards realized they had been discovered, they also raised their guns and fired outside.

"Machine gun cover!" Chen San shouted angrily when he saw one of his soldiers fall to the ground.

"Rat-a-tat-tat," two general-purpose machine guns fired a burst of fire, causing the Japanese soldiers to duck and take cover.

Waves of bullets rained down, instantly killing four or five Japanese soldiers. The Japanese firepower immediately weakened.

Another small group of Japanese soldiers! Chen San waved his hand, directing his soldiers to flank them from both sides.

As they drew closer, the Japanese soldiers were killed one by one.

"Stop fighting!" Seeing the guards being killed one by one, Mutsuhito waved his hand and stood up.

"Your Majesty," the head guard hurriedly stood up to stop him.

"Miki, don't make pointless sacrifices!" Mutsuhito shook his head and brushed aside the head guard's hand. He straightened his clothes, raised his hand, and limped out.

"Don't shoot! I am the Emperor you are looking for!"

"Cease fire! Cease fire now!" Chen San shouted suddenly.

"Instructor, what did he just say? I didn't hear him clearly!" Chen San turned to look at the instructor in disbelief.

“He… he said he was the Emperor!” Mei Zhengyou said hesitantly.

"Be on guard, make them put down their weapons, raise their hands and come out!" Chen San ordered, not daring to be careless.

Soon the Emperor and his family, along with the remaining four or five guards, were brought over!

"You say you're the Emperor of Japan?" Chen San sized up the short, thin middle-aged man in front of him. Although the man was dressed in commoner's clothes, his fair skin, neatly trimmed hair, and beard suggested he was no ordinary person, at least not a poor one.

"That's right! I am Emperor Mutsuhito! I am willing to surrender, please treat my family well!" Mutsuhito said in a low voice, puffing out his chest.

"How can you prove your identity?" Chen San suppressed his elation and asked sharply.

“They are all my guards, they can vouch for it. She is my empress, and there are four princes and princesses!” Muren shook his head dejectedly.

"Do you have any proof of identity? Take it out now! Otherwise, we'll shoot you on the spot if you're impersonating the Emperor!" Chen San waved the Mauser pistol in his hand.

"Captain of the Guards, let's hand over the Imperial Seal to them! Sigh!" Mutsuhito turned to look at the Captain of the Guards, Iga Miki, and said.

"Hi!" Although reluctant, Iga Miki still took the bundle off his back and pulled out a beautifully decorated box inlaid with gold and jade. He handed it to Chen San with both hands.

"Instructor, shall we open it and take a look?" Chen San held the box and looked at Mei Zhengyou.

Although he was a rough and uncultured man, he had heard quite a few operas. If this really was the Imperial Seal of the Japanese Emperor, then it would be truly extraordinary.

"Yes! We must check them, otherwise how can we prove their identities!" Mei Zhengyou nodded.

"Okay!" Chen San nodded, swallowing hard. He gently opened the box.

Against the backdrop of the yellowish grease in the box, a jade seal carved with a coiled dragon came into view.

Chen San grasped the dragon's body and carefully took it out. Turning it over, he saw several Chinese characters engraved on it. Because it was upside down, Chen San couldn't recognize them at first.

Mei Zhengyou, a cultured man, immediately recognized the five Chinese characters on the "Seal of the Great Japanese Empire".

"Is this really the Japanese Imperial Seal? Why are there Chinese characters on it? Is he really the Emperor?" Chen San still couldn't believe it. Such a great achievement had fallen into their hands.

"His situation is exactly as described in the intelligence; his age and children match up. As for this imperial seal, I don't know if it's real."

“However, I think it’s probably true! No one would dare to impersonate the Emperor and produce the Imperial Seal!” Mei Zhengyou nodded.

"Good! We'll take them back right away! We've captured quite a few high-ranking Japanese officials; surely someone will recognize him." Chen San couldn't contain his excitement.

"Wait a minute! Old Chen, are you just going to take him away like this?" Mei Zhengyou stopped Chen San, who was about to give the order.

"Yeah! What else do you want? Do you want me to carry him back in a sedan chair?" Chen San said, puzzled.

"We're still on the battlefield, and we don't know how many Japanese soldiers are still scattered around! If we encounter other Japanese soldiers on the road and they see that we've captured the Emperor, what do you think they'll do?"

“There are other friendly forces. If they see that we have captured the Emperor and his family, do you think they will come and try to take credit?” Mei Zhengyou said in a low voice.

"They dare!" Chen San roared in anger.

"Heh heh! Ordinary spoils of war would be fine, but this enormous achievement is a different story. The Fifth Division has the most men, and their commander is probably nearby. What can we do if he asks us to hand over the Emperor to him?"

"I..." Chen San really wanted to say something tough. But if a major general or division commander were standing in front of him, asking him for people, he really wouldn't dare to stand up to him.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Secret escort! We're not far from Tokyo. Once we get them into the city, they'll be safe at the division headquarters!"

"Hmm! You're the smartest kid! I almost made a huge mistake. If the Emperor had been taken away by someone else, the commander would have skinned me alive!" Chen San patted Mei Zhengyou on the shoulder with force.

"Hurry up and put the imperial seal away! Can you be gentle? Are you trying to kill me?" Mei Zhengyou twisted his shoulder and said irritably.

"Hehe! Good!" Chen San took the bundle from Iga Miki, rewrapped the box, and tied it to his back.

"Old Gao, hurry up and take some men to find a few horse-drawn carriages. Remember, they must be the kind with canopies!" Mei Zhengyou said to the platoon leader as he walked over.

"Yes!" The platoon leader quickly led his men to find the carriage.

"Contract the defenses and stay alert!" Chen San commanded the soldiers to retreat into the mountain valley and carefully lie in ambush.