Chapter 60 Questioning
In the martial arts arena, the guards continued to raise the height of the battlements and kept the flags firmly guarded behind the defensive buildings that were now as tall as a person.
The Jinwu Guards, commanded by Zhao Mingyue, not only did not strengthen the city defenses, but even sent out all 24 people from the two teams.
They were divided into five teams and moved quickly towards their "city", with the shield bearers in the front, followed by two musketeers.
Seeing this, the others showed expressions of confusion and contempt.
"Zhao Yuzhang actually let Zhao Mingyue, a princess who knows nothing, take charge? This is child's play!"
"And they didn't even leave anyone to defend the city. The siege was carried out by musketeers. Did they think they were safe just because they won the first two battles?"
"They must be eliminated first!"
Ranking last will result in a 50-point deduction, and this is Zuo Yingwei's only chance to turn things around.
Qian Qian was originally under a lot of pressure, but when he saw Zhao Mingyue giving orders like this, he immediately laughed contemptuously.
He quickly sent soldiers to contact the nearest commander of the Right Tiger Guard and work together to take down the flag of the Golden Crow Guard. The Right Tiger Guard agreed without much thought.
After all, the Jinwu Guards currently have the highest score, so they must be eliminated first, so that the final victory or defeat can be decided among the five of them.
You can lose to anyone, but you can’t lose to the Golden Crow Guards!
So, ten soldiers from the Left Eagle Guard and the Right Tiger Guard bypassed the route of the Golden Crow Guard and rushed towards the "city" where only Zhao Mingyue was stationed.
Unfortunately, before they arrived, the attack of the Golden Crow Guards had already arrived.
Qian Qian commanded the soldiers methodically, "Shoot!"
Five archers immediately stood at the battlement, bent their bows and shot arrows, which rained down on the Golden Crow Guards.
The person responsible for attacking Zuo Yingwei was none other than Mei Junrong.
As the leader of this four-person team, she didn't panic at all and immediately ordered, "Rattan shield bearers, block it!"
The two shield bearers immediately rolled forward, holding the shields in front of them. The two musketeers following behind them were protected tightly, and the arrows landed on the shields, making crackling sounds.
Almost at the same time, Mei Junrong knelt on the ground, aimed his musket at the soldier on the wall, and pulled the trigger. The next moment, the opposite city wall exploded, and the archer felt a pain in his chest and was knocked unconscious.
Everyone lay down behind the city wall and dared not show their heads again.
Qian Qian kicked him and said, "What are you afraid of? It takes a long time to reload the musket after firing, just go ahead!"
As he said this, he picked up the bow and arrow, but before he could nock the arrow, Mei Junrong shot the next bullet at him mercilessly.
He was hit in the chest by a bullet and his body staggered violently. If he hadn't been wearing armor, he would have fallen down by now.
Moreover, because it was just a competition, in order to avoid casualties, the power of the Jinwu Guards' firearms was weakened, and their bows and swords were not sharpened.
But even so, Qian Qian was shocked. Why was the distance between their shots so short?
Before he could think clearly, two more musket shots were fired. Qian Qian immediately squatted down with his head in his hands. The piled stones fell down and hit him in the face.
The others didn't dare to show up again. Without any obstruction, the Golden Crow Guards easily climbed up the battlements.
Mei Junrong pointed a gun at Qian Qian's head with one hand and pulled out the Left Eagle Guard's flag with the other. He smiled and said, "This is too easy."
The same was true for the other five guards. Their flags fell down one after another, but the flag of the Golden Crow Guard was still flying high. The red golden crow on the black flag became more and more dazzling under the sunlight.
The ten soldiers who went to besiege the city looked back and saw that the sky had fallen.
It's been less than a quarter of an hour, right? They haven't even reached the enemy yet, so how come you've all fallen? Is there any point in attacking the city then?
Looking ahead, Zhao Mingyue was standing on a high battlement, with flags fluttering behind her and a dazzling smile on her face.
At this time, Wu Wenxiu's announcement came from the viewing platform:
"The city of Zuoyingwei has fallen, subtract ten points!"
"The Right Tiger Guard City has fallen, subtract ten points!"
"Zuohuwei City has fallen, subtract ten points!"
…
"The Golden Crow Guards conquer five cities and receive 50 extra points! The Golden Crow Guards take first place in this martial arts performance!"
Chi Qi glanced at Zhen Ruicai, who took two steps back, his face as pale as paper. How could he have imagined that Zuo Yingwei would lose so miserably.
That musket was really beyond his expectations. Not only was it extremely powerful, it could even fire continuously. This kind of thing was really terrifying.
If all his troops were deployed, they would definitely win. This military exercise is unfair!
Thinking of this, Zhen Rui was about to open his mouth to defend himself, but Chi Qi turned around and walked down the viewing platform first, followed by the ministers, and the envoys of those countries also followed with murmurs.
Zhen Ruicai had no choice but to swallow what he wanted to say and followed him, but he was still thinking about how to shirk the responsibility for not performing well in this parade.
Chi Lu led the ministers and slowly walked to the front of the Jinwu Guard's formation. His sharp eyes swept across the soldiers' energetic faces one by one, and finally fell on Zhao Yuzhang in front of the formation.
Zhao Yuzhang had long since shed her previous slump. She stood tall, dressed in silver armor, and exuded an air of authority. Even after winning the match, there was no trace of joy in her eyes, only composure and calmness.
Chi Li smiled and said, "General Zhao, you have commanded the army with wisdom and trained the soldiers with integrity. You have boosted the morale of the Golden Crow Guards and increased their combat effectiveness, earning them first place in this military exercise. Today, I grant you the rank of Grand General in recognition of your outstanding achievements. All of your soldiers have also performed exceptionally well, and each will be promoted one rank higher, with varying rewards."
Zhao Yuzhang was startled, then knelt down and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
The soldiers knelt down together and shouted joyfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live the king! Long live the king! Long, long live the king!" Their voices shook the sky and resounded through the clouds.
Zhen Ruicai was afraid that Zhao Yuzhang would see him and cause trouble for him, so he hid behind the crowd and did not go forward.
Therefore, their shouting in unison frightened him, and he felt uneasy and almost lost his balance.
Just as I was getting worried, I heard a voice from the front asking, "Where is Envoy Zhen?"
He had a bad feeling and subconsciously wanted to turn around and run away, but he was pushed by the official next to him and fell to the ground with a thud.
Everyone looked at him, and Zhen Rui immediately got up from the ground and walked forward tremblingly, "Your Majesty, I, I am here."
Chi Li looked at him coldly. "Back then, you and General Zhao signed a military order in front of me, saying that if either of us lost, the army would be disbanded. Do you still remember?"
Zhen Ruicai's expression changed instantly, and he staggered to his knees. "Your Majesty, the army is a matter of great importance to the country. The Left Eagle Guard has a force of 20,000 men. How can we dismiss them lightly? If we do so, it will not only cause internal troubles, but also attract the covetousness of external enemies! Please reconsider, Your Majesty!"
Chi Li's eyes darkened, and her voice was completely cold. "Zhen Ruicai, I had high hopes for you, but you neglected your duties. The soldiers you led were disorganized and lacked discipline. Such lax military discipline is a betrayal to the entire country!"
She raised her hand and said, "Come here, drag Zhen Ruicai out and behead him!"
Hearing the word "behead", Zhen Rui was completely shocked. It was not until the guards came forward to hold him down that he reacted and shouted loudly:
"Your Majesty, I am wronged! Since I took over the command of the parade, I have worked tirelessly day and night without slacking off. The disorganized and disorganized troops are not solely my fault. How can Your Majesty sentence me to death for this?"
The other officials thought the same, especially the military officers. They all knelt down and pleaded with Zhen Ruicai, "Your Majesty, in the battle of Tangzhou City, it was Master Zhen who led the army to defend the territory and made great contributions to the country. How can you be so easily executed?"
After Li Mian's downfall, the court was purged, and Li Xiang's followers were either killed or exiled. At the same time, Chi Qi also promoted many female officials, but compared with the large number of male officials, the female officials were still just the red flowers among the green leaves and red flowers, green is fat and red is thin.
However, these male officials did not have as much power as Li Mian, and they did not dare to openly compete with Chi Qi. However, the undercurrents below were just as numerous.
They all wanted to defeat Li Mian, but they also wanted to be the second Li Mian.
The Poor Party felt that they had made great contributions to Chi Kuai in dealing with Li Mian, and they deserved to be rewarded and promoted. However, Chi Kuai did not reward them heavily afterwards, which made them very dissatisfied.
Therefore, when they saw Chi Kuai rewarding Zhao Yuzhang and punishing Zhen Ruicai, they realized that Chi Kuai was repeating the same old trick, wanting to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and keep the military power firmly in her hands.
If a meritorious official like Zhen Ruicai could be killed at will by Chi Qi, then wouldn't these unarmed civil servants be even less dangerous?
Therefore, the Poor Party also knelt on the ground and tried to dissuade him, saying, "Your Majesty, Lord Zhen cannot be killed! He is the head of the military officers and has been in charge of military affairs for many years. Killing him so easily will surely cause civil unrest and even a mutiny in the army. Please show mercy, Your Majesty!"
As if to confirm his words, the army suddenly broke out in a commotion, and compared with the previous situation, it seemed even more chaotic.
When Zhen Rui saw this scene, the fear in his heart disappeared and a gloomy smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
If Queen Mother Chi sent someone to assassinate him secretly, maybe she could succeed, but if she wanted to kill him in front of the army and use this to establish her authority, that would be absolutely impossible!
At this moment, a sneer suddenly rang out from above, "Zhen Rui is the hero who defended the country? This is simply ridiculous!"
Zhen Ruicai was shocked and looked up hurriedly, only to see that Zhao Yuzhang had walked up to him without him knowing when, holding a red cherry spear in her hand. The tip of the spear flashed with the same cold light as her eyes, revealing her murderous intent.
He couldn't help but shudder, and subconsciously crawled back two steps, "W-what nonsense are you talking about?"
Zhao Yuzhang took a step forward, staring at him coldly. "Back in the battle of Tangzhou City, you led your troops to flee the city. It was I who rallied the entire city to fight back, and only then were we able to repel the Xiqi army! And you, greedy for credit and reward, erased the names of all my personal soldiers and took all the credit for yourself. You are truly utterly vicious and deserve more than just death; you deserve to be hacked into pieces!"
After she finished speaking, she turned and knelt before Chi Li. Her cape traced a sharp arc in the air behind her. Her voice was filled with unquestionable determination. "Zhen Ruicai falsely claimed military merits, deceiving the emperor and his superiors. He also failed to discipline his troops strictly and neglected his duties. He deserves death! I request that he be torn apart by a chariot to uphold the law and serve as a warning to others!"
The ministers were in an uproar, and Zhen Ruicai's whole body went limp and he sat down on the ground. The blood drained from his face and his lips trembled uncontrollably.
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