Qi An raised an eyebrow: "...Who do you think you are? Do you think I need to aim to kill him?"
Ata quickly admitted his mistake: "Boss, I was wrong. You could hit the target every time you threw it with your feet with your eyes closed."
The eldest brother could easily crush him with his bare hands, yet he still had to pretend to shoot arrows and throw spears.
Sigh, his boss really goes to great lengths to pretend to be a normal person.
I feel sorry for the eldest brother.
The emperor's body convulsed and twisted, like a toad nailed to a wall.
The piercing screams and wails echoed through the sky, and blood stained the city wall behind them, flowing down its surface.
Qi An landed back on his horse, rested his chin on his hand, looked around, and frowned, saying:
"Ata, can you check if the nail is straight? I feel like it's slightly off to the left."
Ata was speechless; his boss's damn OCD had struck again.
He replied dismissively, "That's right, there's nothing wrong with it."
Huo Yu looked at the emperor's miserable state. Even though his heart had long since turned cold, his eyes still stung for a moment before he turned his head away.
The emperor was nailed to the city wall and displayed, bleeding to death until his last drop of blood was drained, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief, just like his sons.
During this time, he watched helplessly as the Imperial Guards and the people opened the city gates to welcome the Huo family army's iron cavalry into the capital.
From this moment on, the short-lived rule of the Great Sheng Dynasty, lasting only a little over twenty years, officially came to an end.
He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.
Qi An first completely drove back the Japanese pirates who had been invading the border for decades, saving the people on the border from suffering.
Then, in the border town, they killed the traitorous Third Prince Kang Hai and his entourage.
Strictly speaking, Huo Yu was the spiritual leader along the way, while Qi An was the one who took charge of the overall situation.
Her superhuman strength and powerful leadership made the Huo family army obey her every word, and Huo Yu did whatever his daughter said.
Adding to that, the incredible archery skill displayed at the gates of Shengjing City at the very end, directly brought the Great Sheng Dynasty to its knees.
Today, Huo Wushuang's prestige among the people and soldiers is already comparable to that of Huo Yu.
Or rather, even more so than Huo Yu.
A female general with sharp and outstanding abilities is like a national treasure; her mere presence brings a sense of security.
After taking Shengjing, Qi An addressed various ambitious individuals.
"While I'm in a good mood right now, you'd better hurry up and surrender, or I'll come and talk to you one by one about life and ideals."
She had a notorious reputation for massacring 200,000 Japanese pirates, beheaded princes, and then pinned the emperor to the city wall with a single spear thrust.
With such a ready-made example right here, who among those impulsive, self-taught individuals would dare to discuss life with her?
It's not like I'm tired of living.
They swiftly went to Shengjing in person to submit, fearing that if they were too late, they would be targeted by this god of death.
Half a month later, just when everyone thought Huo Yu would become emperor, his daughter Huo Wushuang announced that she would become emperor and change the country's name to Liang.
Historical records refer to her as the unparalleled female emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty.
Huo Yu never thought about becoming emperor. He was a born general, and the battlefield was his true domain.
The succession process was naturally not going to be smooth.
The people had no objections; as long as they could have enough to eat and wear, they didn't care whether the emperor was male or female.
Moreover, during the entire rebellion led by Qi An and the Huo family army, under her control, no one dared to take a single needle or thread from the common people. During the busy farming season, she even helped the people harvest wheat and plant crops.
She also took the opportunity to kill corrupt officials, punish tyrants, and redress grievances for the people.
Therefore, they preferred this female general, who had a fearsome reputation but was kind to the people, to become the ruler.
Needless to say, the military personnel are a bunch of grown men who admire strength and whoever is stronger gets to decide.
It's obvious that Boss Qi is the coolest.
The common people had no objections, the soldiers had no objections, only the old men in the court who relied on their status as elders, and the officials who talked about the old ancestral rites and laws all day long had objections.
Such nonsense as "a hen crowing at dawn," "men are the heavens, how can women be emperors? Isn't this going against heaven?" and "slapping the face of all men in the world."
In short, Huo Wushuang is good in every way, but he's missing a couple of ounces of flesh between his legs, which is a problem.
In fact, they knew that the overall situation was settled. Huo Wushuang had both military power and popular support, and with Huo Yu's support, he was the one everyone hoped for.
They're just trying to test her limits so they can manipulate her later.
The old men, thinking that the Empress needed them to stabilize the court, threatened to resign, hoping to control her from the start.
The censors still used the same old tricks, always threatening to die for their cause, trying to blackmail Qi An with their reputation.
But why would Boss Qi care about his reputation?
She responds better to gentle persuasion than force, and hates threats the most.
Qi An immediately ordered people to pack the old folks' belongings and let them retire and return to their hometowns.
"You're an old man, and you don't even know how to make room for the young people. You have no sense of responsibility at all. You should go home and take care of your grandchildren."
Regarding the officials in charge of remonstrance, she pointed to a pillar in the main hall:
"Come on, aim and smash it. If you can't kill him, I'll smash it for him. Let's see if your heads are harder than the pillar."
One official, refusing to believe in superstition, actually ran into it and ended up with blood streaming down his face.
He made a move to bump into her a second time, but the ministers quickly pulled him back and then silently observed the Empress's reaction.
This is a skilled worker who dares to commit suicide, and he knows exactly what force and angle will make something look scary, but it's actually just a minor injury.
True to his word, Qi An pushed through the crowd, grabbed him by the back of the collar, and smacked him again at the pillar.
The sound of a skull cracking echoed through the hall. Qi An tossed aside the lifeless official, a smile playing on his lips: "Who else?"
Everyone fell silent. Huo Yu felt proud and clasped his hands in a fist salute to his daughter, saying, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
All the ministers knelt down in unison, clasped their hands together, placed the backs of their hands on their foreheads, and bowed deeply, shouting: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
During the reign of the Peerless Empress, corvée labor and taxes were reduced, and agriculture, sericulture and commerce were valued. The people lived in peace and prosperity and never experienced war again.
She vigorously promoted students from poor families and established girls' schools, encouraging women to leave their homes to study, engage in business, become officials, or join the army.
Her ministers knew she disliked empty talk and that if they wanted to be promoted, they had to do real work, so they all put their abilities to good use.
The Empress's policies are lenient, but her criminal laws are exceptionally harsh. Anyone who dares to do bad things and break the law will regret being born, no matter who their father is.
She was not a diligent emperor; she stipulated that court sessions would only be held at 9:00 AM, and she also established a series of holidays, including weekends and statutory holidays, making her often unreachable.
She would often threaten to quit, and each time the people and officials would have to cry and beg her to continue.
However, the Empress herself was incredibly powerful, and her father was the Grand Marshal of the Army. The surrounding small countries were easily defeated by the father and daughter, and Japan was completely wiped out.
Even if she slacks off, no one dares to have any disloyal thoughts. The strength of the Great Liang Kingdom is rising steadily, so she really doesn't need to work too hard.
During the Empress's reign, her ministers were extremely concerned about her harem and repeatedly petitioned her to bring several male princes into the palace so that she could produce an heir.
The portraits of all the noble young men in Shengjing were compiled into a book and sent to her desk.
After reading it, Qi An looked completely innocent and said:
"My dear ministers, you are very kind, but I do not like men. I only like beautiful young ladies who are sweet and soft. Would you be willing to send your daughters into the palace?"
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