Chapter 61 Never Forget
Three months ago, Shanglinyuan Camp.
Zhao Yuzhang strode into the central military tent and saw Empress Dowager Chi sitting behind the commander's desk, her fingers casually flipping through the files on the table.
Queen Mother Chi just inspected the Jinwu Guards. I wonder if she is satisfied with the training results during this period.
He thought this in his heart, but he did not stop. He walked straight to the table and saluted. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Chi Li put down the case file and looked up at her, her eyes full of undisguised admiration. She smiled and said, "General Zhao, I never expected you to have brought out such a well-trained army in such a short time. I believe that once they have mastered their firearms, they will surely take first place at the military parade."
Zhao Yuzhang said calmly, "Your Majesty, you are too kind."
"General, you're being too modest. Your abilities are obvious to all." Chi Yiyu smiled. "I want to reward you. What do you want, General?"
Zhao Yuzhang was slightly surprised. Was this a test, or did it have another meaning?
What does she want?
Does she want to leave the princess's mansion and regain her freedom, or does she want to kill Zhen Ruicai to avenge herself and her personal guards? But is Zhen Ruicai really her only enemy?
A self-deprecating smile appeared on Zhao Yuzhang's lips.
Perhaps because she hesitated for too long, Chi Li continued, "Even if you want to kill Zhen Ruicai, that's fine."
Hearing this, Zhao Yuzhang's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't know much about Queen Mother Chi, and this was the first time she was summoned by her alone.
Last time in Xihua Palace, she and Zhen Ruicai confronted each other about an incident from five years ago, each holding their own opinion. In the end, Queen Mother Chi did not make a judgment, but instead let Zhen Ruicai take the post of parade commander and let her train the Jinwu Guards.
She did not agree immediately at that time. Besides being unsure whether she could lead the Golden Crow Guard well, another reason was that she felt that Queen Mother Chi had other intentions.
She can be Queen Mother Chi's pawn, but she can't do it blindly. Who knows if Queen Mother Chi will cross the river and destroy the bridge after achieving her goal?
Zhao Yuzhang raised his eyes and looked at Chi Li. "Your Majesty, do you want me to be your sword and kill Zhen Ruicai? I dare not accept such a reward."
Chi Li smiled. "It seems General Zhao is a smart man and knows exactly what I want to do. If I tell you that I can vindicate the soldiers who died defending the city during the military parade and make their bravery known to the world, would you be willing to make this knife?"
Zhao Yuzhang's breathing stagnated slightly, and all the considerations in her mind disappeared at this moment, but reason still made her remain restrained.
That's right, rather than killing Zhen Ruicai or getting a reward herself, she hoped that their achievements would be known and praised by the world.
They are also heroes who defended their country, and their deaths are not meaningless.
Zhao Yuzhang's voice was slightly hoarse, "Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that I can't defeat Zhen Ruicai?"
"That's your concern, not mine."
Zhao Yuzhang looked at Chi Ling and smiled, "Then I will obey your command, Your Majesty."
Three months later, on the parade ground, the flag of the Golden Crow Guard fluttered upright under the blue sky.
Their victory trampled underfoot Zhen Ruicai's ugly and hypocritical face.
Zhao Yuzhang's resolute voice in requesting that Zhen Ruicai be torn to pieces caused an uproar among the ministers, and the army, which had just been in turmoil, became even more chaotic, making the Jinwu Guards, who were standing in the square formation without moving, seem even more disciplined.
Zhen Ruicai struggled and said, "Zhao Yuzhang, you are slandering me! Your Majesty, she is a lunatic, and the words of a lunatic are not worth believing!"
However, all those who had just pleaded for him fell silent.
Obviously, they had realized that Chi Qi was really going to kill Zhen Ruicai. They were so scared that they dared not say a word.
Chi Qi looked at Zhen Ruicai as if he was the madman, and her voice was extremely cold. "Zhen Ruicai, at this point, you still refuse to plead guilty? You falsely claimed military merits and murdered loyal and good people. Today, use your blood to commemorate them."
She raised her hand and the guards grabbed Zhen Ruicai's arm and dragged him to the stone tablet covered with red silk. They kicked him in the knee and he knelt down.
The fiery red silk cloth was like blood, flowing into Zhen Ruicai's eyes and giving rise to great fear.
He supported himself on the ground with his hands, his limbs shaking uncontrollably.
Everyone's eyes turned to the stone tablet and Zhen Ruicai who was kneeling beneath it.
With a loud rustling sound, the red silk cloth was torn off by the guards, and a stone tablet two people tall appeared in front of everyone.
Looking up, I saw that the engraving recorded the Battle of Tangzhou City five years ago, as well as the names of the soldiers who defended the city and died in this battle.
Five elements and twenty columns, a total of one hundred people's names.
Zhao Yuzhang opened her eyes wide, staring at the monument in disbelief. Engraved on it were the names of her personal soldiers. Each one was so familiar, so familiar that even after so many years, she could still immediately picture their faces in her mind.
From now on, their names and deeds will be remembered by the world and will never be buried again.
Zhao Yuzhang's heart was filled with emotion and tears instantly filled his eyes.
His lips were trembling, and he was about to say something when Zhen Rui, who was kneeling in front of the monument, suddenly resisted and knocked the two guards who were escorting him to the ground.
The guards were shocked, "Protect His Majesty!"
Unexpectedly, Zhen Ruicai jumped up and ran towards the Left Eagle Guard led by Qian Qian, shouting, "I am the hero of the Darong Dynasty! Empress Dowager Chi believed the slander and wanted to kill me without knowing the truth. I refuse to accept it!"
Everyone was shocked by this sudden change and was unable to react for a while.
Zhao Yuzhang was the first to move. She gripped the silver spear tightly in her hand, stood up suddenly, and jumped to catch up with Zhen Ruicai. With a shake of her arm, the red cherry fluttered, and the tip of the spear pierced into Zhen Ruicai's back.
With a bang, Zhen Rui fell to the ground in front of the Left Eagle Guard's formation.
He raised his head, looked at Qian Qian, and stretched out his hand to him, "Save, save me."
Qian Qian retreated in horror, "Sir, you have committed such a serious crime, even I, your humble servant, cannot save you!"
Zhen Ruicai had already been sentenced to death by Empress Dowager Chi and was a wanted criminal of the imperial court. If he tried to save him now, wouldn't that be rebellion? He didn't have the courage to do that.
Zhen Ruicai saw him trying to avoid him and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, "You—! I trusted you so much..."
Unfortunately, before he could finish his words, Zhao Yuzhang's second shot had already struck him like lightning, with the tip of the gun against his throat. The cold touch made him sense death.
My heart was gripped by fear and almost stopped beating.
Zhen Ruicai immediately burst into tears, "No, don't kill me! I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, I apologize to you, please let me go!"
Zhao Yuzhang sneered, "You don't know you're wrong at all, you just know you're going to die."
As he spoke, he thrust his hand forward, and with a click, the tip of the gun pierced Zhen Ruicai's throat, and blood spurted out.
Zhao Yuzhang retracted the gun, and blood slowly dripped along the red cherry. Looking at Zhen Ruicai again, his head was tilted on his shoulder, and he had already stopped breathing.
She leaned over and pulled out a dagger from the side of her boot, and without changing her expression, she cut off Zhen Ruicai's head, and blood flowed all over the ground.
Qian Qian, who witnessed everything up close, was so frightened that his face turned pale. His knees went weak and he was about to kneel to the ground, but was supported by his personal guards.
Zhao Yuzhang wiped the blood off the knife, put it back in his boot, picked up the gun in one hand, lifted Zhen Ruicai's head with the other, and turned around to walk back.
The ministers did not expect that in the blink of an eye, Zhen Ruicai's head and neck were separated by Zhao Yuzhang. They were stunned with fear.
Seeing her coming towards them with a human head in her hand, they all stepped aside, fearing that she would suddenly get angry and shoot them in the neck, and they didn't even dare to make a sound.
Zhao Yuzhang carried Zhen Ruicai's head and walked to Chi Lu. "Your Majesty, please allow me to use the blood and flesh of Zhen the thief to pay tribute to the heroic spirits of the fallen soldiers."
Chi Li nodded and ordered the guards, "Go get some wine for General Zhao."
After a while, the guard brought a jar of cold wine.
Zhao Yuzhang walked towards the stone tablet with heavy steps and placed the thief Zhen's head upright in front of the tablet. His once arrogant face now only showed fear and despair.
She took the cold wine from the guard and poured it in front of the stone tablet. She looked up and stared at the names on the stone tablet for a long time. After a long silence, she said, "We will never forget your names."
He turned around, looked at the Golden Crow Guards, and shouted, "All soldiers, stand and salute!"
All the soldiers knelt on one knee and stared at the stone tablet.
Zhao Yuzhang looked at her soldiers and said, "Remember their names and carry on their legacy. We must not only protect this land, but also protect our sisters!"
"Yes! We will never forget it!" All the soldiers responded in unison. Their uniform voices were full of respect and shook the sky.
The rest of the troops felt quite uncomfortable when they saw this scene.
It was just a military parade, but not only did the Golden Crow Guards take all the credit, their leader Zhen Ruicai was even beheaded. I'm afraid they will have a hard time in the future.
The generals of each guard were also frightened by Chi Kui's tactic of killing the chicken to scare the monkey. Even Zhen Ruicai, the Privy Councilor and the Commander of the Imperial Guards, could be killed at will. If they offended the Empress Dowager Chi, wouldn't they be killed without hesitation?
The same was true for the other civil and military officials. Seeing that Empress Dowager Chi had effortlessly seized military power and supported Zhao Yuzhang and the Jinwu Guards, they dared not say anything.
In addition to these court officials, envoys from various countries were also shocked by this military parade.
The Xiqi Kingdom, in particular, was very interested in the firearms used by the Jinwu Guards.
Back at the Sifang Pavilion, Bai Ma, the younger brother of King Medog of Xiqi, immediately closed the door and said to his generals, "The firearms used by those female soldiers are indeed powerful. They can actually fire continuously. We must find a way to get a batch of them and send them back to the country."
The general agreed, "I will send someone to bribe Lord Wang of the Arms Bureau tomorrow. I think it shouldn't be difficult to get a few."
Bai Ma nodded and was about to say something else, but suddenly his face became alert and he turned to look outside the door.
There was only a slight sound, and then a sharp arrow shot in from the window. He hurriedly dodged to the side. The arrow grazed the corner of his clothes and got stuck in the hard pillar of the house, and its tail feathers trembled violently.
The general hurriedly drew his sword and blocked his way.
Bai Ma stared at the arrow, his heart beating like a drum. This is the imperial city, how could someone come to assassinate him!
However, before he could think clearly, the door was suddenly pushed open, and several men in black broke in, slashing at him with sharp blades.
In the flash of cold light, the general fell in a pool of blood before he even had time to make a move.
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