Chapter 114 Do you want to be emperor?
However, just as the tip of the knife was about to pierce Empress Dowager Chi's body, the Minister of War felt that he encountered a huge resistance.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move the dagger forward even an inch.
He was stunned for a moment, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and screams of fear rang in his head.
Why why why why why can't I kill her?
He looked up in panic, only to see Chi Qi sneer at him and reach out to pull the dagger out of his hand.
He wanted to stop it, but he couldn't move. He could only watch as Chi Qi raised her hand lightly, and the knife flashed and pierced his heart.
The intense pain twisted the Minister of War's face. He was filled with fear and regret, and tears of pain flowed from his eyes.
Why did he think he could kill Queen Mother Chi?
How could she, being so shrewd and cruel, allow herself to be in danger?
The only reason she dared to come to see him alone was...she was here to kill him.
The Minister of War lowered his head, staring at the hilt of the sword on his chest, his eyes reflecting the bright red of blood. Then, he bent his knees, fell to the ground, and fell forward.
Chi Li glanced at him and said regretfully, "What a pity! You won't have the chance to see the day when the Darong Dynasty falls."
The words fell softly to the ground, soaked in the blood on the ground.
Chi Qi turned and left, just as lightly and swiftly as when she came, without a speck of dust on her clothes.
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When Zhao Yuzhang received Zhao Mingyue's order to counterattack, he immediately led two thousand elite soldiers and one thousand musket battalions who were ambushed on both sides of the mountain road down the mountain to pursue Zhao Ping's army.
They walked all the way to the Nanyang Palace, and saw the bodies of male soldiers killed by meteorites all along the way, with scattered limbs and weapons beside them.
She led her army around the Nanyang Palace and onto the official road. The road was hit by meteorites, leaving deep pits of various sizes. However, from the scattered corpses and traces of carriages and horses on the ground, it can be judged that Zhao Ping fled out of Nanyang City.
Zhao Yuzhang immediately accelerated to catch up, and after walking about two miles, he saw Prince Yue's army fleeing in panic in the dark night.
Zhao Yuzhang whispered to his officers, "Zhao Ping's rearguard is ahead. They've suffered heavy casualties and are clearly frightened. If we charge in now, we'll surely be able to quickly capture them and achieve victory!"
The general agreed and immediately passed the order to each team.
Under the cover of night, the soldiers closely following the deserter were like ferocious jackals, silently launching a deadly attack on the army in front.
Zhao Yuzhang led a thousand light cavalrymen to charge forward at lightning speed. In just a moment, they rushed directly from the rear army to the front army, and then divided and surrounded the male soldiers one by one.
These male soldiers had experienced the baptism of meteorites and had barely escaped. They were still in shock when they suddenly heard a group of people rushing towards them from behind. They were so scared that they were unable to organize a strong counterattack.
The cavalrymen fired a burst of fire with their muskets, and the soldiers who were shot fell to the ground one after another. The rest immediately fled in all directions in chaos.
At this moment, two thousand infantrymen arrived one after another and fought in conjunction with the cavalry, killing all the thousands of male soldiers without leaving a single one alive.
In just half an hour, Zhao Yuzhang successfully defeated the male soldiers who were responsible for the rearguard action. Only a small number of soldiers escaped, most of them were killed, and the remaining two thousand people laid down their weapons and surrendered and became prisoners.
Zhao Yuzhang learned from them that Prince Yue had fled south with 5,000 troops, so he left 1,000 men to guard the prisoners and continued to pursue them.
Zhao Ping never expected that when he led an army of 50,000 to attack Zhao Mingyue's camp at night, he didn't even touch the corner of Zhao Mingyue's clothes. The 50,000 troops died or ran away, leaving only 5,000 people.
Zhao Ping couldn't help but cry out to the sky, "God is so unfair to me!"
At this time, a soldier rode forward from the rear, "Your Majesty, Princess Zhaoqing and her troops are catching up!"
"What?" Zhao Ping looked panicked. "How many people do they have?"
"About two thousand men, half of whom are cavalry with muskets!"
Zhao Ping's face suddenly turned pale as paper. He turned his head in panic and looked behind him. He vaguely saw smoke and dust billowing, and the light cavalry had already charged towards him.
The leader was none other than Zhao Yuzhang. She sternly demanded, "Zhao Ping, you attacked our army at night and betrayed us. Where do you think you can escape to?"
Zhao Ping didn't dare to say a word, and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to block Zhao Yuzhang's army. He himself took a hundred personal guards and urged his horse to escape quickly to a small road.
Unexpectedly, he had only run half a mile when Zhao Yuzhang caught up with him alone.
He turned his head and saw Zhao Yuzhang holding a long knife, slashing at him. In an instant, the guards fell off their horses and fell to the ground, and blood splattered in several lines.
Zhao Ping was so frightened that his soul flew away. His hands and feet went limp and he fell off his horse.
When he looked up again, a long knife was hovering over his face, and bright red blood was slowly dripping along the notched blade.
He immediately screamed, "Don't, don't kill me, I surrender, I admit defeat! Princess Zhaoqing, we are relatives after all, why are you so cruel to kill me?"
Zhao Yuzhang hesitated for a moment, and then an urgent voice came from behind him, "Auntie!"
Zhao Yuzhang turned her head and saw Zhao Mingyue galloping towards her with a small team. When they reached her, they quickly pulled the reins and dismounted.
Zhao Mingyue looked her up and down, panting, "Aunt, how could you come after Zhao Ping alone? It's too dangerous. What if he set an ambush?"
"I alone am enough to deal with a coward like him." Zhao Yuzhang's hand did not even move, and the long sword was still hovering over Zhao Ping's face.
Seeing Zhao Yuzhang's hardened heart, Zhao Ping feared he wouldn't be able to move her. He quickly turned to Zhao Mingyue and said in a trembling voice, "Princess Fuguang, please stop your aunt from killing me! Killing me won't do you any good. It would be better to spare my life and extort a ransom from Lanzhou. I can give you all my property, land, and food."
Zhao Mingyue is greedy for money, and she will definitely be shaken after hearing what he said!
Zhao Ping's eyes were filled with hope, and he gave Zhao Mingyue an ingratiating smile, almost timidly. "As long as you don't kill me, I can agree to any request."
Zhao Mingyue then looked at Zhao Ping. He looked much more disheveled than usual, with his clothes disheveled and wounds all over his body. His eyes were filled with fear and anxiety, like a frightened bird, ready to faint at any moment.
She pondered for a moment, then chuckled softly, "But, all under heaven belongs to the king. Sooner or later, all these things you mentioned will be mine. Why should I go to the trouble of sparing your life?"
Zhao Ping's eyes widened in disbelief. "You...you actually want to be the emperor?"
Zhao Mingyue asked back: "Don't you want to?"
Zhao Ping instantly forgot his situation and his fear, his eyes flashing with anger, "But you are a woman!"
In the past, Zhao Mingyue would definitely be angry after hearing this.
But now, seeing Zhao Ping's furious look, she just found it funny. "Why can't a woman be emperor? You know, tonight's meteor shower has completely destroyed your alliance army and the imperial court's troops. The strength of the local states is even less worth mentioning. No one in this world can stop me from taking control of the capital."
Zhao Ping was stunned, and then he screamed like a madman, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! How can a woman become emperor? You are simply wishful thinking. Everyone in the world will be against you - ah!"
Zhao Mingyue raised her foot and kicked him in the chin.
There was iron sheet nailed to the front of her boots. When she kicked him, Zhao Ping shut his mouth instantly, and two teeth flew out mixed with blood.
"Then I will spare your life and let you see with your own eyes how I ascended to the throne." Zhao Mingyue stared at him coldly, her tone even colder than her eyes.
Zhao Yuzhang put away his knife, and the soldiers stepped forward and tied Zhao Ping up.
Zhao Ping was angry, unwilling, and frightened, but he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak.
Zhao Mingyue and Zhao Yuzhang returned along the original route and reunited with the army. They then counted the prisoners and returned to the camp facing the rising sun.
After a night of chaos, Nanyang City had become a ruin, with the bodies of male soldiers scattered everywhere on the ground.
They happened to have captured 5,000 prisoners, so to prevent them from being idle, Zhao Mingyue ordered his generals to urge these prisoners to clean up the battlefield and burn and bury all the bodies. This would also prevent the spread of the disease.
When the captives were clearing the ruins, they also found the bodies of the other four princes. Surprisingly, none of them had escaped from Nanyang City.
Judging from the terrified and distorted expressions on their faces, it is clear how desperate they were before they died.
After Zhao Mingyue learned about it, she couldn't help but sigh, "How pitiful! Let's bury him properly."
Although they were her enemies when they were alive, this did not prevent her from showing some mercy to them after their death.
This is the demeanor she should have as a future emperor.
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At the same time, the court officials and noble families were in a complicated mood when they learned that most of the rebels were killed by the meteor shower.
They had long been fed up with the brutal rule of Queen Mother Chi and wanted to support a new king.
As the saying goes, emperors come and go, but the family remains.
Even if the capital was captured by the rebels, these nobles were confident that they would remain standing in this historical change.
What's more, isn't it still the kid from the Zhao family who is the emperor? As long as he has the ability to sit on the throne, they have no reason to object.
It can also be said that these anti-Chi party members are looking forward to the arrival of King Yue just like they are looking forward to the savior Bodhisattva!
But a meteor shower, unprecedented in history, completely shattered their fantasies.
That night, everyone saw flying stars all over the sky. The people in the capital even felt the earth shaking, and they almost thought that the capital was going to suffer a disaster.
However, the moods of the common people and the nobles were completely different. Many people felt that this was a natural disaster brought about by Empress Dowager Chi, and they hated her even more for it.
Within two days, news of the rebels' heavy losses, while Princess Fuguang's army remained unscathed, spread to the capital. At first, people were just discussing the matter normally, but as the news spread rapidly, it became increasingly outrageous.
Some people think that Princess Fuguang is a monster, and all the female soldiers in her army were transformed from monsters, which is why they survived the catastrophe.
Others believe that Princess Fuguang is the reincarnation of a deity, a daughter of destiny, a bodhisattva sent by heaven to save the suffering women of the world. She knew that Prince Yue and others had committed many evil deeds, so she sent down flying stars to save them.
But no matter how the rumors change, people only believe the version they want to believe.
Those who dislike Princess Fuguang think she is a monster, while those who like Princess Fuguang think she is a god.
The princes and ministers were more practical in their considerations.
They changed their previous wavering attitude towards the rebels and resolutely resisted Princess Fuguang. They reported to Queen Mother Chi, demanding that Zhao Mingyue return to Yuzhou immediately, otherwise they would lead troops to attack her.
Although there are not many soldiers and horses left in the capital, they firmly believe that as long as the emperor raises his hand, the people of the capital will voluntarily join the army and launch a fierce attack on Zhao Mingyue!
This is when the real purpose is revealed.
They wanted Empress Dowager Chi to abdicate and return power to the real emperor.
"Empress Dowager Chi, how long are you going to keep the emperor imprisoned?" These officials launched a final question to Empress Dowager Chi in the court.
At this time, three cannon shots were heard from the city wall near Nan'an Gate in the outer city, and the hall shook three times.
The attendant staggered in from the palace gate, shouting in panic, "Your Majesty, Princess Fuguang is leading an army of 100,000 and has already deployed at the gates of the city!"
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