Chapter 91 Heaven's Way is in Women

Zhao Mingyue took a step forward, holding the manifesto in his hand, and read it aloud to the many soldiers and generals below the stage.

Upon their arrival in Yuzhou City, Zhao Zhuo had asked Zhao Mingyue to write a manifesto to attack Empress Dowager Chi. Zhao Mingyue was naturally reluctant, but after some thought, she decided to write two manifestos: one to deal with Zhao Zhuo, and the other to be read at the rally.

She wanted to accuse Zhao Zhuo of plotting rebellion in front of everyone and tear off the fig leaf of this old thief Zhao Zhuo.

Zhao Mingyue's voice was clear, like water hitting ice. Each word spread out and echoed clearly in Swallow Valley.

Things like "Zhao Zhuo colluded with the scum of Xiqi and openly sold out the country", "He captured innocent women under the pretext of suppressing bandits to feed the Xiqi army", "He forced poor villagers to do hard labor in the mines under the pretext of migration", "He poisoned the people and was worse than beasts", directly scolded Zhao Zhuo.

Li Zhi and several other generals were standing in the front, so they heard it most clearly. Their faces changed instantly and they looked at Zhao Zhuo in panic.

Didn't they say they were going to read out a manifesto to attack Queen Mother Chi? Why is Zhao Mingyue actually attacking the prince?!

Moreover, the words Zhao Mingyue shouted were very direct and powerful. Even though the soldiers present were illiterate, they could understand what she was saying.

The whole audience was in an uproar and the army's morale was shaken.

"Rebellion? How can the campaign against the Demon Queen be considered a rebellion?"

"Um, is the news of arresting women true? How can we give our women away for free to the Xiqi people? They are simply inhumane!"

"I know there are people mining over there. So, were those people captured?"

Zhao Zhuo's face turned pale as he yelled at Zhao Mingyue, "Shut up, shut up! This is all nonsense!"

As he said that, he rushed over, snatched the manifesto from Zhao Mingyue's hand, and tore it into pieces in a few strokes.

Zhao Mingyue looked at Zhao Zhuo calmly, her finger pressing against his solar plexus. "Even if Uncle tears it off, it's useless. I've memorized it all. Today, I'm going to let everyone in the world know that Uncle is a sinner who has committed countless evil deeds!"

Only then did Zhao Zhuo realize that all this was done intentionally by Zhao Mingyue.

He was furious and said, "Why did you do this? I am your uncle. Queen Mother Chi has ordered you to marry to Xiqi. Why would you betray me for her?"

Zhao Mingyue was silent for a moment, then raised her eyes and looked at him firmly, "I'm not doing this for Queen Mother Chi, I'm doing this for myself."

Zhao Zhuo raised his right hand, a fierce look flashing in his eyes. "Since you are so stubborn, don't blame me for disregarding our kinship. Capture Zhao Mingyue for me!"

Several male guards standing behind him obeyed the order, immediately raised the long swords in their hands and stabbed at Zhao Mingyue.

Zhao Mingyue remained calm. Zhao Yuzhang, who was standing behind her, flew out. She thrust one hand into the swords, grabbed the spear heads of the guards, and twisted them with great force, breaking the spears instantly.

The male guards were shocked by the domineering force and all fell on the ground with their backs. One of them even rolled off the stage.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yuzhang threw several spears in his hand towards Zhao Zhuo.

Zhao Yuzhang's movement was so fast, almost like lightning. Zhao Zhuo was unable to dodge and was instantly hit by several spears, turning him into a hedgehog.

Zhao Zhuo screamed and wailed, falling to the ground, his facial muscles twitching in pain.

Zhao Yuzhang stepped forward, drew his sword, and held it against his neck. He looked at the soldiers below the stage and said, "Don't move!"

Li Zhi and others were stunned. The incident on the stage happened too quickly. Before they could take action, Zhao Zhuo fell into Zhao Yuzhang's hands.

If the prince were gone, they would die before achieving their goal, and their rebellion would be completely over.

Thinking of this, they dared not move anymore and immediately issued an order to lay down their weapons and not to take any action.

Zhao Yuzhang looked at Zhao Mingyue and said, "Now, no one dares to interrupt you. Just finish reading that manifesto."

Zhao Mingyue nodded happily, "Yes, aunt!"

She strode to the front of the army, lowered her eyes to look at the soldiers below the stage, and continued reading the unfinished manifesto.

After just two sentences, the messengers fell silent. Zhao Yuzhang saw this and immediately bent down and slapped Zhao Zhuo in the face, "Hurry up and have the messengers repeat!"

Zhao Zhuo had never experienced such humiliation before, and he was furious. However, with the blade still hanging on his neck, he dared not act rashly. He looked at the soldiers below and shouted, "Do you want to kill me? Read the whole thing!"

All the soldiers agreed in unison, and the messenger then spread Zhao Mingyue's words to all the troops.

Zhao Zhuo thought that Zhao Mingyue just wanted to accuse him of rebellion. Anyway, she had said everything she should have said just now. It couldn't be any worse. He had to think of a way to escape as soon as possible.

But as he listened, he felt that there was something wrong with the manifesto, and he became more and more frightened.

Zhao Mingyue just made an impassioned speech. After scolding him, he actually began to denounce Rong Taizu, saying that he was "harsh and cruel, and extremely brutal." He then criticized the current emperor as "a young boy, stupid and useless."

I thought he would stop there, but Zhao Mingyue became more and more excited as he read, and even cursed all the emperors of the Darong Dynasty.

Zhao Zhuo was terrified. Even he would not dare to curse his ancestors like that. What on earth did Zhao Mingyue want to do? Was she crazy?

At this moment, Zhao Mingyue changed the subject, and there was a hint of resentment in her fierce voice.

"Women have been enslaved and held as servants for thousands of years. We are descendants of the Yellow Emperor, yet you men treat us as playthings, marrying and abusing us at will. We live between heaven and earth, yet we live in a dark prison, never seeing the light of day."[Note 1]

"You deceased women are so good, you framed Daji and offered Zhaojun as an offering. How many heroic women have either been trapped in the boudoir or become wronged souls."

“You imprisoned Wen Ji, disciplined Qing Zhao, and oppressed Xue Tao. How many extraordinary talents can only regret that their silk clothes hide their poems, and look up in vain to envy those whose names are on the list!”[Note 2]

"You say that Heaven dislikes women in government, but you are just using the name of Heaven's will to do things that dislike women. It's not Heaven that dislikes them, but men who dislike them."

"Empress Dowager Chi is the mother of the Son of Heaven, and therefore the mother of the world. She accepted the order in times of crisis to pacify the state and eliminate corrupt officials. What's wrong with that? The female officials she employed are all upright gentlemen and well-educated people. What's wrong with that?"

"Today, I, Zhao Mingyue, am here and will never allow you to slander any woman again!"

"I swear here that I, Zhao Mingyue, will use my entire life's abilities to punish all men who harm women and redress all the grievances of women in the world, in order to comfort the souls of all the innocent women who have died in vain over the past thousands of years!"

The messenger finished reading this sentence, and his loud voice spread throughout the valley.

Then, there was dead silence.

There were clearly nearly 10,000 people in this valley, but at this moment they all fell silent.

Zhao Zhuo was so shocked that he couldn't even feel the pain in his body. Was Zhao Mingyue trying to seduce all men in the world? She was really crazy!

Openly making enemies with all the men in the world, isn't she afraid of being torn to pieces by these men? Does she really think that just a few harsh words can scare them?

How ridiculous!

The reason why women have fallen to their current state is not because of men, but because they themselves are lowly and incompetent and can only rely on men to live!

Zhao Zhuo now only feels regret. If he had known that Zhao Mingyue was such a terribly naive person, he should not have trusted her so much.

If he had chosen to imprison her directly and force her to do what he wanted, the situation today would not have happened.

He turned to look at Li Zhi in the audience. The two exchanged glances. Li Zhi nodded and quietly aimed the arrow from his sleeve at Zhao Mingyue.

Zhao Zhuo saw Li Zhi's actions, lowered his head, and raised a secretly complacent smile. As long as Zhao Mingyue was killed, the soldiers would rush forward and destroy the Jinwu Guard.

This farce ends here.

However, they did not know that nearly a thousand Golden Crow Guards had been ambushed around the valley.

The manifesto that Zhao Mingyue read was not only for these male soldiers, but also for the guards of the Jinwu Guard.

Those words were so righteous and touching, and every word was like a nail, driving into the hearts of these women.

They are the first female soldiers of the Darong Dynasty. Behind their seemingly glorious and ambitious appearance, there are countless criticisms and rumors, cold-eyed spectacles, and alienation from their friends and relatives.

They no longer know why they persist.

Princess Fuguang was once their partner who fought alongside them and had gone through a lot of trouble to fight for their interests, but in the end they had to escort her to Xiqi with their own hands, repeating the tragedy of the princess who was married off to a foreign country.

But now, at this moment, they already know their goal.

Everyone's excited eyes followed and fell on Zhao Mingyue standing on a high platform in the valley. She was dressed in military uniform, her silver armor gleaming brightly in the sun, and the red cloak behind her fluttered gently in the wind.

They seemed to see her dark eyes, clear and bright, and unwavering, as if even facing a hail of bullets and arrows, she would never retreat a single step.

At this moment, a sleeve arrow shot out and shot towards Zhao Mingyue.

Zhao Yuzhang felt her heart stop beating, and she had no time to stop it.

Zhao Zhuo widened his eyes and was so excited that he almost shouted out loud, "Go to hell!"

However, almost at the same time as the sleeve arrow came out of the sheath, Zhao Mingyue raised the rifle and pulled the trigger at Li Zhi.

With a loud "bang", everyone was stunned.

Zhao Mingyue still stood there, her expression unchanged, while Li Zhi tightly covered his right hand and fell to the ground, rolling around in pain.

Zhao Yuzhang raised his eyebrows in confusion, then smiled with relief.

Zhao Zhuo couldn't believe it. Zhao Mingyue had easily knocked away the sleeve arrow without even noticing?

This is absolutely impossible! Could it be that Heaven is really on her side?

Zhao Mingyue looked calm on the outside, but her heart had already been pounding. She was certainly not unaware of it.

Although the sleeve arrows are concealed, their lethality is insufficient and they can only kill enemies within thirty steps.

Li Zhi wanted to assassinate her with his hidden blade, and the closer he was to her, the easier it would be.

But Li Zhi was obviously not confident in his archery skills. Even though he and Zhao Mingyue were not far away, before taking action, he still chose to take a cautious step towards Zhao Mingyue.

But it was this step that made Zhao Mingyue realize his plan.

She trained in the Jinwuwei military camp for so many years, but it was not in vain!

Li Zhi was not confident in his archery skills, but she was very careful about her gun skills.

The moment the sleeve arrow was shot out, she aimed blindly at Li Zhi and hit him with one shot.

The gunshot broke the eerie silence in the valley, but at the same time, it also broke the concerns in everyone's hearts.

The soldiers in the audience immediately became restless.

"Kill her! Kill this monster!"

Zhao Mingyue narrowed her eyes. She didn't have nothing behind her.

The killing weapon that had been laid in ambush had not yet been deployed.

Zhao Mingyue skillfully changed the bullet with one hand and pointed the musket at the sky.

"Bang--!"

This was the signal for action agreed upon by Zhao Mingyue and the Jinwu Guards.

She raised the corner of her mouth and said softly, "God's way is with women."

————

A huge explosion sounded, and the earth shook.

Zhu Dafeng turned his head to look at Laoya Mountain in the distance, his expression solemn, "Princess Fuguang has already taken action, we must hurry!"