Ever since that day after court, the Gong Family had been controlled by the court's people and were not allowed to leave the city.
The entire Gong Family gathered at Dad Gong's house when they first received the news.
After Gong Dafu opened his shop, he gave all the money he had earned from the shop, except the funds needed to run the business, to Gong Xiaohua as her dowry when Gong Xiaohua got married last time.
When Madam Gong learned about this, she felt very touched in her heart. However, it was not easy for her nephew to come all the way to the Capital City from their hometown to open a shop, and work hard with the other young ones in the family from dawn to dusk every day. So not only did she return all the money to him afterward, but she also took out a portion from Xiaohua’s reward money and gave it to Gong Dafu. This allowed him to buy a bigger house on Wuyi Alley where they all lived, and bring his whole family over from their hometown so that the nine family members could squeeze together and barely fit.
In Dad Gong’s generation, it was just him and his eldest brother, the two males. They also had one sister and one younger sister who got married near their hometown. When their dad and mom were alive, they had given birth to more than a dozen children. Over time, some died and some were sold. In the end, only the four of them were left. Dad Gong was far away in the Capital City, so his dad and mom had been living with his eldest brother. He was never able to fulfill his filial duty. Now that his nephew had a way out in the Capital City and his daughter was able to earn a large reward, he gave some money to Gong Dafu and bought this house. He brought over the family of his eldest brother and his parents to live in the Capital City. This allowed him to complete his filial duty.
"Second son, among us, only you have some insight. Do you think Xiaohua has a chance of defeating the Dawei Army?" Gong Grandpa asked while smoking a dry pipe.
"That's right, second son. If she loses, your dad and I are two old men who have lived enough. We die when we die. But you guys are still young. Not to mention there is still GouDan who is only a few months old." Gong Grandma said worriedly.
GouDan was the son of Gong Dafu. His wife gave birth to him shortly after he left his hometown.
"Dad, Mom, throughout history, glory, wealth, and high official positions all require staking one's life. If we in the Gong Family win this gamble, then we will rise from the ground up. If we lose, then we will die together. Our whole family will be neatly arranged together on the Road to Underworld. We have nothing to fear." Dad Gong said.
"It's just that Dafu, you few are still so young yet have to suffer due to us."
"Uncle, what are you talking about? In the Gong Family lineage, generation after generation, we have been eking out a living from the soil. When natural disasters happened, which family didn't lose a few lives, some even had their whole families wiped out. Now Xiaohua is fighting on the frontline for a future for our clan. We cannot shrink back and drag her legs."
"That's right, uncle. Ever since we came to the Capital City, we have seen what real nobility and prestige looks like. For us commoners to become prominent in the Capital City, we have to stake our lives. We are not afraid." Gong Dafu's two younger brothers said.
"Alright, our whole family will wait for Xiaohua's triumphant return. I believe she will definitely succeed."
On the border of Xu Mountain.
The imperial decree had been spread throughout the entire army camp early in the morning.
Now the army was permeated with a tense atmosphere, especially the faction led by Gao Hu.
He didn't expect that his command of the army would be stripped and instead given to a little girl with yellow hair whom he had impeached.
"This must have something to do with the Qin Family." One of his subordinates said.
"I heard that this Gong Xiaohua was originally just from a low-level yamen family. She was only able to marry into the Qin Family because of the emperor's decree of marriage, becoming the wife of Deputy Marshal Qin. I thought the Qin Family would greatly despise this wife. Didn't expect her to be so valued by them."
"General, what should we do now? Can it be that we old fellows have to take orders from a little girl?"
"Humph, what's the hurry. She thinks anyone can just lead an army? Just wait and see the good show."
Wooh, wooh, the bugle call for assembly rang out from the martial arts field.
Soon after, Gong Xiaohua looked at the few hundred people gathered below. Most of these people were the ones who had escaped from Bu Luo Jian together with her back then.
"Xiaohua, Gao Hu and the captains under him haven't come. Their subordinates must have obeyed their orders and not come as well. What should we do?" Li Zichen, who was by her side, said.
Gong Xiaohua thought for a moment and said, "Call the law enforcement team. Let's go."
Gong Xiaohua brought a group of people to Gao Hu's camp.
"Come, bring Gao Hu's people to me."
"Yes."
"How dare you!" A roar came from inside.
Soon after, Gao Hu and his people walked out from the camp and saw a circle of people surrounding them, including those from the law enforcement team.
Gao Hu knew things had already been exposed when he saw this person.
His eyes glared as he said, "So what if you know? I'd like to see who dares kill me?"
Roars of laughter sounded from behind him.
"What are you laughing at? Wasn't Gong General the one who defeated the Third Prince of Dawei? Which one of you can do this? Step out and compare." A burly, strong man who had escaped from being surrounded together with Gong Xiaohua said.
"Just because you have good martial arts doesn't mean you can become a general. Being able to lead troops to retreat is real ability."
"That's right. We don't agree."
"General Gao, you're too eager for achievement. You buried 100,000 valiant souls at Bu Luo Jian. And because of your own cowardice and fear of death, you pushed the crime onto others, even killing all of General He's subordinates who knew. Now you're still inciting your subordinates to defy military law and disrupt troop morale. That alone is punishable by death. Men, take General Gao down and execute him on the spot." Gong Xiaohua suddenly said.
These words caused an uproar. For a long time, no one dared step forward to carry this out.
When Gao Hu heard this, it was as if he had heard the funniest joke.
"Ha, ha, what evidence do you have to prove I did this?"
"What evidence? Come, bring Captain Chen here."
After a while, an injured man supported by others walked over from the crowd. This person was a cavalry captain under General He and was also one of those who had escaped being surrounded together with Gong Xiaohua.
When Gao Hu saw this person, he knew things had been exposed.
His tiger eyes glared as he said, "So what if you know? Let's see who dares kill me?"
The fierce light in his eyes frightened everyone around to retreat in unison.
"Law enforcement team, why aren't you taking action?"
The law enforcement team stood in the middle, looking awkwardly between Gong Xiaohua and Gao Hu's group. It wasn't that they wanted to defy orders, but killing General Gao so suddenly was too shocking. They didn't dare step forward.
"Ha ha, look, no one dares listen to you. Go be your one-man general then."
"Is that so? No one will deal with you, so I'll take care of it personally."
When Gong Xiaohua spoke this way, Gao Hu's heart sank into fear and he hurriedly said, "What are you trying to do? Your Majesty hasn't said to deal with me. What right do you have to do so?"
"His Majesty didn't say not to deal with you either, but now I'm in charge of the army. I naturally have the authority to handle military affairs, including you. Anyone who dares violate military law will face the same military punishment."
"Who dares touch General Gao without asking if we agree first?" The several captains behind Gao Hu stood up together to shield him.
But before they finished speaking, a small knife shot straight into Gao Hu's forehead when they least expected it.
Peng!
Gao Hu's body fell straight down. Before dying, his eyes glared wide, filled with shock and incredulity.
"General!" Everyone cried out in alarm and hurriedly went to check. He was killed with one strike.
"You're so bold to directly kill General Gao."
"Anyone who dares violate military law again, I'll deal with according to military law. No exceptions."
"You..."
"What, disagree?"
No one present dared to speak.
Gong Xiaohua walked toward Gao Hu's corpse. With every step she took forward, those by Gao Hu's side retreated by one step.
When she got to Gao Hu's side, she squatted down and pulled the knife out from his forehead. Blood splashed all around, looking extremely horrifying.
Yet Gong Xiaohua didn't even blink once. As she wiped away the bloodstains, she muttered to the corpse on the ground, "When I led troops in my past life, you were probably still reincarnating."
Seeing Gong Xiaohua's manner, everyone was frightened with pounding hearts.
It was from this moment that Gong Xiaohua thoroughly deterred the people in the army, establishing her prestige.
Ever since that day after court, the Gong Family had been controlled by the court's people and were not allowed to leave the city.
The entire Gong Family gathered at Dad Gong's house when they first received the news.
After Gong Dafu opened his shop, he gave all the money he had earned from the shop, except the funds needed to run the business, to Gong Xiaohua as her dowry when Gong Xiaohua got married last time.
When Madam Gong learned about this, she felt very touched in her heart. However, it was not easy for her nephew to come all the way to the Capital City from their hometown to open a shop, and work hard with the other young ones in the family from dawn to dusk every day. So not only did she return all the money to him afterward, but she also took out a portion from Xiaohua’s reward money and gave it to Gong Dafu. This allowed him to buy a bigger house on Wuyi Alley where they all lived, and bring his whole family over from their hometown so that the nine family members could squeeze together and barely fit.
In Dad Gong’s generation, it was just him and his eldest brother, the two males. They also had one sister and one younger sister who got married near their hometown. When their dad and mom were alive, they had given birth to more than a dozen children. Over time, some died and some were sold. In the end, only the four of them were left. Dad Gong was far away in the Capital City, so his dad and mom had been living with his eldest brother. He was never able to fulfill his filial duty. Now that his nephew had a way out in the Capital City and his daughter was able to earn a large reward, he gave some money to Gong Dafu and bought this house. He brought over the family of his eldest brother and his parents to live in the Capital City. This allowed him to complete his filial duty.
"Second son, among us, only you have some insight. Do you think Xiaohua has a chance of defeating the Dawei Army?" Gong Grandpa asked while smoking a dry pipe.
"That's right, second son. If she loses, your dad and I are two old men who have lived enough. We die when we die. But you guys are still young. Not to mention there is still GouDan who is only a few months old." Gong Grandma said worriedly.
GouDan was the son of Gong Dafu. His wife gave birth to him shortly after he left his hometown.
"Dad, Mom, throughout history, glory, wealth, and high official positions all require staking one's life. If we in the Gong Family win this gamble, then we will rise from the ground up. If we lose, then we will die together. Our whole family will be neatly arranged together on the Road to Underworld. We have nothing to fear." Dad Gong said.
"It's just that Dafu, you few are still so young yet have to suffer due to us."
"Uncle, what are you talking about? In the Gong Family lineage, generation after generation, we have been eking out a living from the soil. When natural disasters happened, which family didn't lose a few lives, some even had their whole families wiped out. Now Xiaohua is fighting on the frontline for a future for our clan. We cannot shrink back and drag her legs."
"That's right, uncle. Ever since we came to the Capital City, we have seen what real nobility and prestige looks like. For us commoners to become prominent in the Capital City, we have to stake our lives. We are not afraid." Gong Dafu's two younger brothers said.
"Alright, our whole family will wait for Xiaohua's triumphant return. I believe she will definitely succeed."
On the border of Xu Mountain.
The imperial decree had been spread throughout the entire army camp early in the morning.
Now the army was permeated with a tense atmosphere, especially the faction led by Gao Hu.
He didn't expect that his command of the army would be stripped and instead given to a little girl with yellow hair whom he had impeached.
"This must have something to do with the Qin Family." One of his subordinates said.
"I heard that this Gong Xiaohua was originally just from a low-level yamen family. She was only able to marry into the Qin Family because of the emperor's decree of marriage, becoming the wife of Deputy Marshal Qin. I thought the Qin Family would greatly despise this wife. Didn't expect her to be so valued by them."
"General, what should we do now? Can it be that we old fellows have to take orders from a little girl?"
"Humph, what's the hurry. She thinks anyone can just lead an army? Just wait and see the good show."
Wooh, wooh, the bugle call for assembly rang out from the martial arts field.
Soon after, Gong Xiaohua looked at the few hundred people gathered below. Most of these people were the ones who had escaped from Bu Luo Jian together with her back then.
"Xiaohua, Gao Hu and the captains under him haven't come. Their subordinates must have obeyed their orders and not come as well. What should we do?" Li Zichen, who was by her side, said.
Gong Xiaohua thought for a moment and said, "Call the law enforcement team. Let's go."
Gong Xiaohua brought a group of people to Gao Hu's camp.
"Come, bring Gao Hu's people to me."
"Yes."
"How dare you!" A roar came from inside.
Soon after, Gao Hu and his people walked out from the camp and saw a circle of people surrounding them, including those from the law enforcement team.
Gao Hu knew things had already been exposed when he saw this person.
His eyes glared as he said, "So what if you know? I'd like to see who dares kill me?"
Roars of laughter sounded from behind him.
"What are you laughing at? Wasn't Gong General the one who defeated the Third Prince of Dawei? Which one of you can do this? Step out and compare." A burly, strong man who had escaped from being surrounded together with Gong Xiaohua said.
"Just because you have good martial arts doesn't mean you can become a general. Being able to lead troops to retreat is real ability."
"That's right. We don't agree."
"General Gao, you're too eager for achievement. You buried 100,000 valiant souls at Bu Luo Jian. And because of your own cowardice and fear of death, you pushed the crime onto others, even killing all of General He's subordinates who knew. Now you're still inciting your subordinates to defy military law and disrupt troop morale. That alone is punishable by death. Men, take General Gao down and execute him on the spot." Gong Xiaohua suddenly said.
These words caused an uproar. For a long time, no one dared step forward to carry this out.
When Gao Hu heard this, it was as if he had heard the funniest joke.
"Ha, ha, what evidence do you have to prove I did this?"
"What evidence? Come, bring Captain Chen here."
After a while, an injured man supported by others walked over from the crowd. This person was a cavalry captain under General He and was also one of those who had escaped being surrounded together with Gong Xiaohua.
When Gao Hu saw this person, he knew things had been exposed.
His tiger eyes glared as he said, "So what if you know? Let's see who dares kill me?"
The fierce light in his eyes frightened everyone around to retreat in unison.
"Law enforcement team, why aren't you taking action?"
The law enforcement team stood in the middle, looking awkwardly between Gong Xiaohua and Gao Hu's group. It wasn't that they wanted to defy orders, but killing General Gao so suddenly was too shocking. They didn't dare step forward.
"Ha ha, look, no one dares listen to you. Go be your one-man general then."
"Is that so? No one will deal with you, so I'll take care of it personally."
When Gong Xiaohua spoke this way, Gao Hu's heart sank into fear and he hurriedly said, "What are you trying to do? Your Majesty hasn't said to deal with me. What right do you have to do so?"
"His Majesty didn't say not to deal with you either, but now I'm in charge of the army. I naturally have the authority to handle military affairs, including you. Anyone who dares violate military law will face the same military punishment."
"Who dares touch General Gao without asking if we agree first?" The several captains behind Gao Hu stood up together to shield him.
But before they finished speaking, a small knife shot straight into Gao Hu's forehead when they least expected it.
Peng!
Gao Hu's body fell straight down. Before dying, his eyes glared wide, filled with shock and incredulity.
"General!" Everyone cried out in alarm and hurriedly went to check. He was killed with one strike.
"You're so bold to directly kill General Gao."
"Anyone who dares violate military law again, I'll deal with according to military law. No exceptions."
"You..."
"What, disagree?"
No one present dared to speak.
Gong Xiaohua walked toward Gao Hu's corpse. With every step she took forward, those by Gao Hu's side retreated by one step.
When she got to Gao Hu's side, she squatted down and pulled the knife out from his forehead. Blood splashed all around, looking extremely horrifying.
Yet Gong Xiaohua didn't even blink once. As she wiped away the bloodstains, she muttered to the corpse on the ground, "When I led troops in my past life, you were probably still reincarnating."
Seeing Gong Xiaohua's manner, everyone was frightened with pounding hearts.
It was from this moment that Gong Xiaohua thoroughly deterred the people in the army, establishing her prestige.
