Hundreds of thousands of Yao soldiers clad in black armor charged forward with imposing momentum. Leading them with heroic valor was none other than Qiao Ci.
"We are saved!"
"It's the Empress coming to our aid!"
"Wonderful! Yao is saved, and we are saved!"
The soldiers guarding the gate were at a loss. They simply stood still, following their instincts.
No one was willing to become a slave of a conquered nation until the very last moment.
Seeing the surrounding cheers all directed at that woman, Xiao Ren, who had just spoken of surrender and felt immensely humiliated, was filled with hatred.
Couldn't she have come sooner?
She made him lose his composure and his dignity like that!
After the Southern Barbarian forces retreated, he would surely make her pay!
For now, however, regaining his reputation was paramount, so he would let it slide.
"A'Ci, you've finally arrived. I knew you would come. I've been waiting for you, and you truly haven't disappointed me."
Qiao Ci couldn't be bothered to look at him. She announced loudly, "Drag this idiot... no, this traitor away. Don't ruin my mood."
Now Qiao Ci was the savior of the Great Yao Kingdom. The old officials, deeply disappointed in Xiao Ren and fearless of death, exchanged glances. They stepped forward, some covering his mouth, others embracing his waist or holding his legs, effectively surrounding the traitorous emperor Xiao Ren.
Wei Zhu, who was with the King of Southern Barbarians, recognized Qiao Ci immediately. Seeing her commanding presence, Wei Zhu gritted her teeth.
"Your Majesty, this is the former Empress, Qiao Ci. She was originally offered to you by the Emperor, but she found Your Majesty too... crude. So, she devised a plan to knock me out and use a double."
Upon hearing this, the King of Southern Barbarians furrowed his brows. When he saw Qiao Ci's face, his gaze became ardent. He laughed heartily, "So you are the princess sent by your emperor for a marriage alliance. If you surrender now, I will forgive and forget, and marry you."
Qiao Ci looked at his scruffy, bearded face, his meaty jowls, and his robust physique. She felt a wave of nausea.
"Bah! Look in a mirror! If you weren't wearing clothes, I'd think you were a wild boar that jumped out of the mountains!"
"You want to marry me? You're like a toad pretending to be a frog, ugly and lecherous."
"If I say, it's not your fault for being ugly, but it is wrong for you to come out and scare people."
"Why are you glaring? Am I wrong? I've seen ugly people in my life, but never anyone as ugly as you. At first glance, you're ugly, but upon closer inspection, good heavens, you're even uglier!!!"
The King of Southern Barbarians was so angered by Qiao Ci's repeated insults that his lungs felt like they would explode.
"You stinking woman, when I catch you, I'll make your life worse than death!"
"Get out of the way! I'm going to kill this wench!"
Wei Zhu knew Qiao Ci's martial arts were extraordinary and quickly stopped the King of Southern Barbarians, signaling him to be careful.
The King of Southern Barbarians flung her aside, grabbed his iron hammer, and charged towards Qiao Ci on his warhorse.
Qiao Ci was not afraid. As they met, she leaped up, swept her leg, and kicked the King of Southern Barbarians off his horse. She then dismounted, ready to give him a lesson in "love."
The King of Southern Barbarians was a man of brute strength. He puffed out his belly, leaped up, bared his teeth ferociously, and swung his massive hammer with great power.
He wasn't angry about being kicked off his horse by a beauty. He intended to intimidate Qiao Ci, using only five parts of his strength. However, he didn't even touch the corner of her clothes. The King of Southern Barbarians no longer showed any mercy.
"Oh, so the King of Southern Barbarians is a hammer-wielder."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, your hammer swings are far worse than those of street performers."
"Keep going, you're almost close enough to touch me." kuAiδugg
Qiao Ci, agile as a swallow, toyed with the King of Southern Barbarians as if he were a monkey.
Gradually, she grew bored.
"Is that all?"
"What a waste of space!!"
Qiao Ci stopped dodging. With a swift movement, she snatched the King of Southern Barbarians' hammer and began a brutal beating.
The King of Southern Barbarians rolled on the ground like a clumsy club, emitting pig-like squeals.
A few of his confidantes, seeing the situation turn dire, rushed forward to shield him. The King of Southern Barbarians seized an opening and scrambled back to his own ranks. Qiao Ci did not stop him.
She severely wounded several of his confidantes, who were then tied up by the soldiers. Turning to the vast expanse of Yao soldiers before her, she declared sternly, "Are the Southern Barbarians so fearsome? They are nothing more than this!"
"It is these beasts who bully our people, occupy our land, commit arson, murder, and plunder, and are guilty of all evils!"
"Continuous concessions will not satisfy these hungry wolves; they will only whet their appetite! Against such beasts, only by striking them hard, by making them fear, will they yield!!!"
"Soldiers, follow me! Let us wash the battlefield with blood and promote the prestige of our nation!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!!"
"Kill!!!"
Just as the King of Southern Barbarians returned to his ranks, Qiao Ci led her troops in an assault. Flustered, he began leading his men to defend themselves.
Facing the exceptionally valiant Yao soldiers, combined with their peculiar formations and tactics, the usually invincible Southern Barbarians were routed and forced to retreat within half a day.
The King of Southern Barbarians attempted to escape, but Qiao Ci captured him amidst thousands of troops and had her subordinates bind him tightly.
Seeing that the situation was lost, the Southern Barbarians surrendered en masse.
The King of Southern Barbarians was unresigned. He spat out a mouthful of blood and, craning his neck, declared, "You had best release me now. My main army will arrive soon, and then..."
"Oh? Are you referring to those brutes camped on Weimeng Mountain? I'm afraid they won't be able to come."
"Not only that, but all unknown individuals who have committed evil deeds on Yao territory have been brought to justice. If I calculate the time, their souls have probably flown back to their homeland. Perhaps I should send you to join them."
With a swift stroke of the blade, the King of Southern Barbarians met his end.
The crisis of the impending invasion was thus resolved. The old officials on the city wall, their faces flushed with excitement, their voices hoarse, shouted, "Open the city gates! Open the city gates and welcome General Qiao!"
Qiao Ci entered the city on her majestic warhorse, with valiant soldiers escorting her on both sides. The citizens of the city lined the streets to welcome her, flocking to catch a glimpse, the city emptying in their fervor.
Qiao Ci's prestige reached an unprecedented height.
On the city wall, the ministers who had been restraining Xiao Ren fell into a dilemma.
"This... this... what should we do with the Emperor?"
"General Qiao hasn't given any instructions either."
"What are we to do..."
The old officials exchanged confused glances, unsure of what to do.
"What Emperor? He is a traitor! Temporarily imprison him in the imperial prison and await General Qiao's decision," decreed Zhang Zhen, the Vice Minister of Justice and an old friend of the Grand Censorate, settling the matter with finality!
Xiao Ren, his mouth stuffed with someone's foul-smelling sock, glared hatefully at these ministers.
How dare they treat him like this! Did they intend to rebel? When he returned to the palace, he would have their entire families executed!
Sensing the unfavorable turn of events, Wei Zhu, who had been hiding, attempted to slip away unnoticed. However, she was eventually caught.
It was, after all, her wearing the noble attire of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom that made her too conspicuous.
However, now that the King of Southern Barbarians was dead...
Thinking back to her previous status, the soldiers imprisoned her alongside Xiao Ren.
Not long after Qiao Ci returned to the palace, auspicious signs appeared in the imperial palace: seven-colored auspicious clouds filled the sky, faintly accompanied by the roars of dragons and the cries of phoenixes, lingering for a long time.
She also did not idle. With an iron fist, she dealt with matters related to the Southern Barbarians.
The Southern Barbarians became a vassal state of Yao, required to pay tribute to Great Yao annually. In return, Great Yao provided some agricultural technical support to the Southern Barbarians...