Chapter 1193 Female General
After entering the city, the two brothers lived in separate places. Although Guan'ao had tried several times to invite Yuwen Cheng to his home, hoping to break the ice and reconcile the two brothers, Yuwen Cheng always ignored him. When Guan'ao went to find him in person, Yuwen Cheng smiled sarcastically and said that he had plenty of places to live and did not need to squeeze under one roof to pretend to be brothers.
At the time, Guan'ao was shocked by his nonchalant attitude and couldn't recover for a long time after returning.
However, Shang Ruyi had already anticipated this.
Although they are siblings from the same mother, it is an open secret that Yuwen Cheng is dissatisfied with his second brother. However, he has now stopped pretending to be a brother and brother. What will he do next?
Yuwen Ye led her to the table and sat her down. After a moment of contemplation, he said calmly, "No need. If he wants to come, he will."
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Once everyone was seated, Yuwen Ye looked up at his generals and, if he couldn't see them, at the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed outside the city—this was his greatest gain from this battle.
At this moment, his gaze fell on Shi Yutao, who was sitting next to Shen Tu Tai, looking solemn and hesitant to speak.
Seeing his strange expression, Yuwen Ye said, "General Xiao Shi, do you have something to say?"
Hearing him call his name, Shi Yutao was startled and immediately stood up. However, Yuwen Ye gently waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down. Shi Yutao then awkwardly sat back down. After considering for a long time, he said softly, "Your Highness, why is my elder sister not at tonight's banquet?"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall fell silent.
Guan Ao was the only person here who had never met Shi Yuxin. He had only heard some things about the siblings from Guan Chiying, and he was quite curious about that heroine. He originally thought he would be able to meet her tonight, but he did not expect that Yuwen Ye would not let Shi Yuxin come. Even more unexpectedly, Shi Yutao questioned him about this matter as soon as he opened his mouth, which made the originally harmonious and happy atmosphere in the hall turn cold.
After all, both of them were surrendered generals, and whether or not they appeared at the banquet for meritorious officials was a very delicate matter.
Yuwen Ye said, "Tonight is a banquet for meritorious officials."
"yes."
"General Shi has not rendered any service under my command, so of course she has no place here."
"...!"
Shi Yutao was stunned for a moment, then he understood.
His rank, or rather his ability and reputation, had always been below Shi Yuxin's, so much so that he felt something was off when he didn't see Shi Yuxin here today, and even felt that he shouldn't be sitting here at all; but Yuwen Ye's words were also very clear, Shi Yuxin was captured by Shentu Tai after the battle of Huiluocang and has been imprisoned in Hulao Pass ever since. He neither surrendered nor played any role in the subsequent battles, so he really cannot be called a meritorious official.
Moreover, if we really look at ability and reputation, Xiao Yuansui could suppress everyone here as soon as he appeared. However, after he surrendered to Yuwen Ye, he did not contribute to the battle of Luoyang and could not be considered a meritorious official. Therefore, he and Hua Ziying were left outside the city.
He then said, "Then I—"
Yuwen Ye said, "Although we didn't have a major battle when we captured Luoyang this time, you were the first to enter the city when we broke through Huian Gate, which is called 'first to enter'. So you have a place tonight."
"..."
"If you and your sister can be as brave and fearless as you were on this mission, you will always have a place at the victory celebration banquet under my command, Yuwen Ye."
Shi Yutao didn't speak again, but his face turned bright red, not out of shame, but rather out of an indescribable excitement. Shang Ruyi watched his chest heave rapidly, as if he were about to break down from some kind of emotion. Just then, her gaze swept over a dazed figure outside the door. After thinking for a moment, she smiled and said, "General Shi, His Highness the Prince of Qin has many rules for governing the army, but there is only one reward: meritorious service."
"..."
"He never mistreats his own people."
Shi Yutao nodded slightly: "This subordinate understands."
When everyone heard Shang Ruyi's words, they all thought she was just trying to dispel Shi Yutao's doubts. Only Pei Xingyuan sensed a deeper meaning. He subconsciously turned his head to look at the door of the main hall. By this time, it was completely dark outside. Apart from the main hall, it was almost pitch black outside. But he could vaguely see a figure in the dark night, hesitating, as if hesitating whether to come in.
Could it be—
Suddenly, he couldn't breathe.
Sitting to the side, Shen Wuzheng immediately noticed the strangeness in the person next to him and turned to look at him: "What's wrong?"
Seeing that Pei Xingyuan didn't speak and was staring straight outside, he immediately sensed something. He followed Pei Xingyuan's gaze to the door and finally, in the deep, inky night, a lithe figure appeared.
She seemed hesitant when she took her first step toward this light, but after that, the next steps were much easier. Step by step, she soon reached the lobby entrance. The bright lights shone on her, and it was as if everyone's eyes were focused on her.
It's Liang Youying!
She's finally here!
Behind her was Jiang Yan, who had been inseparable from her these past few days. Compared to Liang Youying, he was much calmer and more composed. However, when he saw Liang Youying stop at the gate, he subconsciously held his breath.
Everyone in the lobby stopped what they were doing and watched her in silence.
Liang Youying stopped at the doorway, feeling as if the gazes focused on her weighed a ton. In truth, she had been hesitant, but the moment this pressure pressed down on her, she suddenly felt a surge of resistance. With a quick step, she crossed the high threshold.
The faces in the lobby, some familiar and some unfamiliar, all wore smiles. Shen Tu Tai, in particular, looked almost naive with the joyful smile on his fierce tiger-like face. He waved to the two of them and said, "You've finally arrived."
Liang Youying stopped again.
She saw that, apart from the empty row on the right, all the generals sitting behind the tables in the hall were men.
Recalling the situation at Wanggang Village, she looked up at Yuwen Ye and said loudly, "Your Highness, I have another question I would like to ask."
Yuwen Ye placed his hands on the table and looked at her calmly: "Miss Liang, please ask."
Liang Youying said, "The King of Qin has many heroes under his command, but not a single female general. If I were to submit to His Highness the King of Qin, would I be relegated to a lowly post in the future?"
Upon hearing this, others might be able to understand, but Shi Yutao immediately widened his eyes and turned to look at Yuwen Ye. After capturing Shi Yuxin, Yuwen Ye had kept her imprisoned at Hulao Pass, which was one of the reasons why Shi Yuxin had not made any contributions under his command and could not attend today's victory banquet.
Did he forbid women from going to the battlefield?
If that's the case, wouldn't women like Shi Yuxin and Liang Youying be like pearls hidden in the dust?
Upon hearing Liang Youying's words, Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly surprised that this question was what had held her back at the last moment. But the next moment, he smiled faintly and said, "Miss Liang, do you know that tonight is a victory celebration banquet?"
Liang Youying said, "Of course I know."
Yuwen Ye then said, "Those who can sit here are all meritorious officials." He emphasized, "Without exception."
These words seemed unnecessary, but the last four words gave Liang Youying a jolt, because after she said them, the dignified and beautiful Princess Qin, who was beside Yuwen Ye, smiled at her.
Liang Youying asked, "Princess Qin...?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Miss Liang, I came here to sit here not just because I am the Princess Consort of Qin."
"..."
Liang Youying didn't speak, but recalled that day at the altar outside the East Gate when she saw Shang Ruyi leading her troops. Although Liang Shide had been controlled by her at that time and the two sides did not fight, she could tell from Shang Ruyi's calm command and the obedience of the soldiers that she had considerable prestige in the army.
Fifth Sister,
Shen Tu Tai joined Wanggang Village later, so he was ranked seventh, but he was older than Jiang Yan and Liang Youying, so he still addressed them as younger brother and sister. He stood up and walked to the two of them, and solemnly said: "His Highness Prince Qin always takes the lead in every battle, being the first to charge, break through enemy lines, kill generals, and capture flags. He deserves the greatest credit, and there is no difference between the high and low ranks. This time, the Princess Consort led three hundred heavy cavalry to first relieve the siege of Xia Prefecture, and then forced the Western Turkic army to retreat at the border of Sui Prefecture, preventing Ashina Zhuxie from heading south to reinforce Luoyang. Afterwards, in the Battle of Hulao Pass, she raised the Prince Qin's banner in Xiao Yuansui's camp, which greatly demoralized Xiao's army, allowing us to severely damage their army of one hundred thousand with three thousand cavalry."
Shen Wuzheng said calmly, "In this battle, both the King of Qin and the Queen Consort deserve the greatest credit."
Liang Youying was speechless with astonishment.
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Actually, everyone here knows that I am not from a military family and I don't know how to fight, but neither the King of Qin nor His Majesty the Emperor has ever stopped me from raising, leading, and using troops. Miss Liang, you are different from me. In the future, you will surely achieve great things."
Looking at Shang Ruyi's smiling face, and recalling her heroic demeanor in the army, Liang Youying took a deep breath and finally made up her mind.
She stepped forward to the center of the hall and knelt before the two people seated at the head of the table: "This humble general, Liang Youying, greets His Highness Prince Qin and His Highness Princess Qin!"
Seeing Liang Youying kowtow, Jiang Yan, who had accompanied her, breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped forward and knelt down beside her, bowing in greeting: "This humble general, Jiang Yan, greets His Highness Prince Qin and His Highness Princess Qin!"
At this, everyone in the hall smiled with delight, especially Pei Xingyuan.
His eyes crinkled with laughter.
But Shen Tu Tai was the first to speak, clapping his hands forcefully: "Good, good, good!"
In this way, everyone in Wanggang Village submitted to Yuwen Ye's command—not only did their brothers and sisters reunite, but it also meant that everyone had embarked on another bright path. How could he not be overjoyed?
Yuwen Ye smiled and raised his hand, saying, "Please rise, both of you. Please take a seat."
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