Golden Ranking Appears, My Empress Turns Out to Be Wu Zhao

"Your Highness, good news, great news!"

Early on the third morning.

Huo Qingtong had just arrived at the military tent, preparing to handle important matters.

Suddenly, a subordinate came in with a face full of excitement.

"What is it?"

"The Qing Army has suddenly fallen into civil strife. The general leading the campaign against our tribe, Fuheng, was found dead in his tent not long ago."

"Many of his subordinates are now accusing one another, claiming the others are responsible for Fuheng's death."

"His deputy is the most suspected. They all believe he has already defected to the Ming Dynasty."

"It's complete chaos now."

"They've started killing each other."

"This is excellent news! We should strike them while they're completely unprepared."

The messenger was visibly thrilled, eyes filled with anticipation.

"Send orders immediately. Tell the troops to prepare."

"We are launching an attack on the Qing Army at any moment!"

"I'll scout ahead first. Wait for my signal!"

"Yes, I'll carry out your command at once!"

Huo Qingtong's face lit up with excitement.

She had to annihilate these hundreds of thousands of Qing Dynasty soldiers right here to avenge her father Muzhuolun's death at the hands of the Flying Guillotine Division.

With a flicker of her figure, she vanished from the tent in a blur.

Then, she dashed toward the direction of the Qing Army's encampment.

Before long, the sight of the camp came into view.

Fighting was breaking out everywhere!

The air was thick with blood. Clearly, this internal strife had already resulted in massive casualties.

Given the Qing Army's capabilities, something like this shouldn't have happened.

Even if General Fuheng had died, they had protocols in place to quickly appoint a new commander.

Even if that hadn't happened.

There still shouldn't have been internal chaos.

Something was wrong. Someone had clearly orchestrated this disaster.

Recalling the secret message she had received before, it all made sense now.

That person's people had made their move.

Now that she was certain, Huo Qingtong wasted no time.

She returned quickly to camp, summoned her officers, and began assigning battle duties.

Each task was delegated methodically and efficiently.

==========

"Kill!"

"Kill every one of those Qing Dynasty dogs!"

"Our time for revenge has come. Don't let a single one escape!"

"My mother died at the hands of you Qing Dynasty dogs. I'll avenge her!"

Huo Qingtong led her army in a charge against the Qing Dynasty camp.

Chaos erupted into even greater chaos.

The Qing Army suffered devastating losses.

Even though they saw the enemy approaching, there was still no intention of stopping the internal conflict.

Everyone was focused on eliminating political rivals.

Some believed that gaining more power in this moment could lead to future control of the army.

Others saw their comrades fall during the infighting and were desperate to get revenge.

Huo Qingtong's troops slaughtered their way through, while the Qing Dynasty forces continued tearing each other apart.

At the same time, members of the Azure Dragon Association stirred the pot from the shadows.

At this moment, the larger the Qing Army, the more vulnerable they became.

Out of three hundred thousand Qing Dynasty soldiers, fewer than ten thousand were killed by Huo Qingtong's forces.

But over one hundred thousand had already died in the civil strife.

That didn't even include the wounded.

==========

Outside the battlefield, on a medium-sized hill.

Yuan Suiyun and the others silently observed the scene below.

"These Qing Dynasty troops are useless."

"Defeated this easily?"

"We had multiple contingency plans, but now it seems like there's no need."

"Yeah, they're even weaker than we expected."

"By the way, Branch Master Yuan, was it you who killed General Fuheng?"

"No, it should have been one of the Hall Masters from the Azure Dragon Association."

"An impressive scheme, such a deep and intricate plan. One move connected to another!"

"Seems there are plenty of capable people in the Azure Dragon Association!"

"A small plot and scheme from the Azure Dragon Association was enough to turn the tide of an entire war."

"It caused massive casualties among hundreds of thousands of troops."

"Compared to that level of planning, the petty tricks of the Martial World are absolutely insignificant."

A glimmer of ambition appeared in Yuan Suiyun's eyes.

Perhaps joining the Azure Dragon Association truly was the right decision.

Thinking back to the petty squabbles of his past, compared to determining the outcome of an entire war or dynasty.

It was laughable.

This was the path he truly wanted to walk.

The Azure Dragon Association!

One day, the position of one of the Dragon Heads would surely belong to him, Yuan Suiyun.

But right now, he was only a Great Grandmaster, not even at the Heavenly Human Realm.

To become a Dragon Head, he still had a long way to go.

According to the information he had gathered, to qualify for that position, one had to be at least at the Mythical Realm.

And even within that realm, one had to stand at the very top.

Yet even then.

Among the Dragon Heads, such a person would still rank low.

To hold true authority within the Azure Dragon Association.

Without reaching the God Demon Realm, it was absolutely impossible.

Take this war for example. The Dragon Head who orchestrated the fall of the Qing Dynasty clearly possessed God Demon Realm strength.

He hoped that one day, he too could influence the fate of a dynasty.

In the future, wars would erupt across the Nine Provinces.

The Qin Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and Sui Dynasty dynasties would all become enemies of the Ming Dynasty.

Opportunities would abound.

But whether he could reach his goals would depend on his own efforts.

Taking a deep breath.

Yuan Suiyun's heart burned with determination.

Not only Yuan Suiyun, but also Lu Xiaofeng, Chu Liuxiang, and the others were shocked by what they witnessed.

The current events were nothing like the Martial World they once knew.

In the Martial World, there were occasional plots and hidden schemes.

But now, seeing tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand dead in mere moments.

Made those past schemes feel like child's play.

At most, those involved a few dozen or a hundred casualties.

They were not worth comparing.

Only by participating in events like this could they grow stronger.

Compared to this, the Martial World was nothing more than a safe nursery.

"Let's go, it's time for us to leave."

"Return to the Qing Capital. There's a more important mission waiting for us there!"

"What about the situation here? Aren't we going to keep watching?"

"There will be other branches to handle the rest."

"Looks like there are further plans for the remaining Qing Dynasty forces."

"It doesn't seem like they intend to wipe them out completely."

"They probably still have some use."

"Anyway, we are just one branch. Within the Azure Dragon Association, we are dispensable."

"We must increase our strength to gain more authority."

"The best method is for one of us to reach the Heavenly Human Realm. Then our branch will naturally rise in power."

"Otherwise, we'll be stuck following orders."

"The Azure Dragon Association is nothing like life in the Martial World."

"Obedience is absolute."

"If we mess up any of the upper-level plans, even if His Majesty doesn't care, the Land Immortals within the Azure Dragon Association definitely won't let us off."

Speaking of those high-ranking members of the Azure Dragon Association, even someone as confident as him had to show caution.

==========

Ming Imperial Palace.

"Your Majesty, this is a secret report from the western frontier of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Oh? Bring it to me!"

Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up.

He took the report, opened it, and immediately burst into hearty laughter.

"Interesting, this is so interesting!"

"I thought it would take a lot of effort to destroy the Qing Dynasty's three hundred thousand soldiers."

"I didn't expect it to be so easy."

"My own troops didn't even need to get involved."

"Reward them!"

"Send word to Bai Xiaosheng of the Azure Dragon Association. Tell him to verify the contributions of everyone involved in the western campaign and grant triple rewards."

"If the Azure Dragon Association performs just as well in the next campaign to destroy the Qing Dynasty, reward them tenfold!"

"Let Bai Xiaosheng know that I'm not afraid of the Azure Dragon Association overshadowing me. No matter how great their achievements, I can handle it."

"I don't fear that their merits are too great. I only fear that their merits are too small."

"If that happens, the Azure Dragon Association might as well not exist."

In Zhu Houzhao's eyes, all the resources he poured into the Azure Dragon Association were not to raise a useless group.

They had to produce real value.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will deliver your orders personally!"

==========

Qing Imperial Palace.

"What? Three hundred thousand soldiers, with one hundred fifty thousand dead, fifty thousand captured, and the remaining hundred thousand all wounded?"

"Are they useless? This was just a small Uyghur Kingdom tribe! Even with ten or fifty thousand, they should have crushed them!"

"What was Fuheng doing? Bring him back immediately! I want to question him myself! Is he a general or a fool?"

"He completely failed my expectations."

Upon hearing the disastrous report from the front lines, Hongli's face turned purple with rage.

He began cursing loudly.

"Your Majesty, General Fuheng has perished."

"He was assassinated by a killer in the camp."

Heshen replied cautiously.

"What? Impossible! My Flying Guillotine Division was protecting him. Unless a Mythical Realm personally acted, he couldn't have been in danger!"

"Your Majesty, the Flying Guillotine Division were sent to capture Kasili."

"They never returned. Most likely, they died at the hands of the Uyghur Kingdom."

"Because of that, there was no one left to protect General Fuheng, and the assassination succeeded."

Hearing this, Hongli staggered and nearly fell.

He had almost forgotten.

The real purpose of deploying three hundred thousand troops wasn't just to suppress the rebellion.

It was to capture the stunning beauty he had long desired, Kasili.

But now, for the sake of a single woman.

He had lost more than half of his army.

Compared to three hundred thousand troops, what was one Princess worth?

Thinking about it, Hongli began to feel deep resentment toward Kasili.

He even developed a murderous intent.

"Who's commanding the remaining forces now?"

"Have them return to the capital immediately!"

"This... Your Majesty, I'm afraid we've been played."

"The remaining one hundred thousand troops are now under the command of Doron."

"And this Doron is a close confidant of the Third Prince."

"Currently, Doron believes that Your Majesty does not carry the true Manchu imperial blood and is unfit to rule. He follows the orders of the Third Prince alone."

"This defeat wasn't because the enemy was strong."

"It was because there are traitors within the army."

"This is a plot, a scheme to weaken Your Majesty's control over the military!"

"And the mastermind is the Third Prince!"

"Third Brother? That vile traitor Hongshi, so you finally found your chance?"

Hongli clenched his teeth in fury.

His hatred for the Third Prince surged uncontrollably.

Recalling the current unrest in the capital and the escalating tensions within the Imperial Family, it was clear that Hongshi had planned all of this long ago.

Even the Fifth Prince, Hongzhou, infiltrating the palace and dying there was likely Hongshi's plot.

Hongli even suspected that the exposure of his true lineage had also been orchestrated by Hongshi.

He had naively believed this was a scheme from the Ming Dynasty.

But in reality, it was all part of Hongshi's plan to rebel and seize the throne.

Countless thoughts raced through his mind.

He had to strike back.

He had to have Hongshi torn to pieces or he would never be at peace.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

List of Characters:

Number One Under Heaven ( 天下第一 )

・Zhu Houzhao ( 朱厚照 ) — Emperor of Ming Dynasty

Legend of Chu Liuxiang ( 楚留香传奇 )

・Yuan Suiyun ( 原随云 ) — August 15th Branch Master of Azure Dragon Association

The Book and The Sword ( 书剑恩仇录 )

・Aisin Gioro Hongli ( 弘历 ) — Emperor of Qing Dynasty

・Heshen ( 和珅 ) — Corrupt Minister of Qing Dynasty

・Huo Qingtong ( 霍青桐 ) — Queen of Uyghur Kingdom