"Get up, all of you!"
Having won over the hearts of the people, Lin Wanwan did not hesitate for a moment and immediately issued her first order. Her voice was clear and decisive, carrying a calming power.
The palace servants and guards who had been kneeling on the ground rose one after another. Their faces, which had been filled with fear and confusion, were now filled with awe and determination. They looked at the Empress on the steps, who held the phoenix seal and had a firm look in her eyes, as if they had found a pillar of stability in the midst of a storm.
"Qin Zheng!"
"Your subject is here!" Qin Zheng stepped forward quickly, her expression solemn.
"Activate the emergency plan immediately!" Lin Wanwan's mind was racing at this moment, and commands flowed smoothly from her lips:
"You, immediately lead all the female finance officers to the warehouse and take inventory of all available supplies! Distribute all the spare weapons and armor in the warehouse! If that's not enough, find everything that can be used as a weapon—kitchen knives, scissors, even fire pokers!"
"Yes!" Qin Zheng accepted the order.
Where are the ladies-in-waiting?
A tall, dignified female official immediately stepped forward and said, "Your subject is here!"
"You, immediately organize all the palace maids and eunuchs who are still able to move, and divide them into two teams! One team is responsible for putting out the fire! Kunning Palace must not be in chaos! The other team, immediately convert the side hall into a temporary wounded soldiers' camp, and prepare all the wound medicine and clean strips of cloth! The wounded will arrive soon!"
"Yes!" A hint of admiration flashed in the eyes of the female officer in charge of the ceremonial guard, and she immediately turned around to carry out the order.
In just a few words, the chaotic logistics personnel were instantly transformed into two highly efficient support teams. This was the result of Lin Wanwan's usual implementation of the female officer system and repeated emergency drills! At the most critical moment, this "female officer dream team" demonstrated an execution capability far exceeding that of ordinary people!
After arranging the logistics, Lin Wanwan turned her gaze to the guards who were holding weapons and whose fighting spirit had been rekindled.
"Everyone, heed my command!"
"Yes, sir!" Dozens of guards responded in unison, their voices echoing through the courtyard!
Lin Wanwan knew every inch of Kunning Palace like the back of her hand. This was her home, and also the battlefield she was about to defend.
She pointed to the open space in front of the palace and ordered a captain of the guards, "You, take a team and move all the heavy tables, chairs, screens, and display shelves out of the palace! Build the first line of defense here! Remember, it should be staggered in height, leaving only narrow passages to facilitate our own movement, but enough to slow down the enemy's advance!"
"yes!"
She then pointed to the artificial hills and flower beds on both sides of the courtyard: "You, take a team and use these artificial hills and corridors to build a second line of defense! Smash all those valuable antique vases and scatter the shards on the only way! I want every enemy who rushes in to have no peace under their feet!"
"yes!"
The guards' eyes gleamed with excitement. Smash those priceless antiques they wouldn't dare touch under normal circumstances? This order was exactly what these roughnecks wanted!
"Everyone else, follow me! Up the palace wall!"
Lin Wanwan lifted her skirt and personally led the last team of guards up the Kunning Palace wall, which was not very high but sturdy enough.
Standing atop the wall, she surveyed the entire layout of Kunning Palace, quickly forming a three-dimensional defensive diagram in her mind.
"Archers, take up the four corner towers and fire freely!"
"Those without bows and arrows, go and bring up everything you can throw down! Stones, tiles, even chamber pots! Bring them all up for me!"
"And another thing!" Lin Wanwan's gaze fell on the towering flames of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the distance, her eyes narrowing. "Go to the storeroom and bring out all the precious silks and fabrics! Soak them in water immediately and hang them down from the palace walls!"
Upon hearing this, a guard hesitated and said, "Your Highness, those... those are all tribute items..."
"We're all going to die, what's the point of those tributes?!" Lin Wanwan shouted sharply. "The fire in the Hall of Supreme Harmony will spread here soon! These soaked cloths are our firebreak! Go now!"
"yes!"
The orders were carried out swiftly and efficiently.
The entire Kunning Palace was like a sophisticated war machine that had been activated in an instant, and it started operating frantically!
Under Lin Wanwan's command, the originally chaotic palace underwent a miraculous and dramatic transformation in a very short period of time.
The palace maids stopped screaming and crying, and instead carried buckets of water to extinguish the sparks blown by the wind in an orderly manner; the eunuchs also stopped scattering and running away, and instead gritted their teeth and carried basket after basket of stones up the palace wall.
The guards were in high spirits. They roared and used heavy rosewood tables and chairs to build a sturdy barrier in front of the palace gate. They excitedly smashed the priceless blue and white porcelain vases to pieces, creating a path of death in the courtyard.
The "female officer team," usually only responsible for ceremonial duties and considered mere figureheads, shone brightly at this moment. They moved between various posts, calmly directing and efficiently coordinating, their strong organizational skills and composed demeanor under pressure drawing the attention of all the guards.
Qin Zheng and her team of female financial officials even found a box of exquisitely crafted crossbows, which were believed to be privately kept by a former empress, hidden in a secret compartment of the accounting office. These crossbows were already cocked and greatly enhanced the defensive firepower of the palace walls!
Under Lin Wanwan's "dimensional reduction attack" of modern management and military thinking that transcended this era, the originally disorganized Kunning Palace was transformed into a highly efficient and formidable fortress in the short span of an incense stick's time!
Three lines of defense, advancing layer by layer; long-range firepower, poised to be unleashed; and logistical support, all in perfect order!
When everything was in place, Lin Wanwan stood on the palace wall, looking down at the "impregnable fortress" she had personally built, and at the female officials and guards on the wall who were on high alert with firm eyes. Her heart, which had been aching with worry for Xiao Che, finally felt a little at ease.
She knew that what followed would be a bloody battle.
"They're here!"
A female officer in charge of lookout suddenly sounded an alarm.
Lin Wanwan immediately looked ahead.
In the distance, at the end of the palace road, a rebel force of several hundred men, brandishing their swords and spears, charged towards Kunning Palace like a black tide!
Leading the group was a burly rebel captain. He clearly hadn't expected to encounter any significant resistance here.
He led several hundred men and charged all the way to the gates of Kunning Palace.
Then, he was completely stunned.
He stared in disbelief at the palace before him, a place that was practically an impregnable fortress.
The palace gate, completely blocked by tables and chairs, leaving only a death trap; the porcelain shards gleaming dangerously in the courtyard; and... on the palace walls, a dense, imposing array of... guards wielding bows and clubs, and... women?!
What's going on here?!
Wasn't he here to take over a surrendered harem?! It feels more like he's attacking a military fortress!
After a brief moment of shock, extreme anger and humiliation welled up on the rebel captain's face.
He roared, raised the steel knife in his hand, and pointed it at the stunningly beautiful figure in a phoenix robe on the palace wall.
"Charge!"
"A bunch of women! They think they can turn the world upside down?!"
"Whoever captures Kunning Palace and takes the Empress alive will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces and promoted three ranks!"
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