Chapter 84: Opposition to Women Entering the Military
Everyone in the audience was shocked and no one spoke for a while.
Ye Qiongying frowned, glanced at Yuan Wu, and said nothing.
"But..." Soon, someone whispered, "After General Ye left, wasn't the army entrusted to you, General Yuan, to take over? This girl from the Ye family... Although she is General Ye's daughter, she is just a woman. How can she come to the military camp? It's not reasonable for a woman to be a general. Looking at her, can she hold a gun or ride a war horse?"
They admitted that Shizier was good at playing.
However, war is not a fight, and it cannot be accomplished by simply throwing stones.
This time, the content of the speech was not as bad as the previous one, but in essence, it also denied the value of Ye Qiongying's existence and disagreed with her standing here.
He did not curse anyone, and what he said was logically accepted by most people.
Sure enough, others soon followed suit:
"Yes, General Yuan, we are convinced, but a woman? Her duty is to take care of her husband and children at home. How can she come to the military camp? It's simply nonsense."
"The tiger talisman that commands the army was split into two. One half is in the hands of the emperor, and the other half was entrusted to General Yuan by General Ye. This girl from the Ye family is the general's bloodline, and she doesn't have the tiger talisman in her hand. How can we obey his orders?"
……
The shock just now was weakened by the voices of opposition.
Obviously, everyone felt that the law did not hold everyone responsible, and that no one had insulted the Ye family's daughter this time, they were just explaining the truth. She couldn't shut up all of them, could she?
Ye Qiongying really didn't intend to do that.
She sneered:
"Who said women can't join the army? My Ye family's ancestors had a precedent of women joining the army, and they were personally conferred the title of Second Rank General of the Garrison Army by the royal family. This is much higher than General Yuan's rank of Cavalry General, right?
Whether I can hold a gun and ride a horse will be known in due time, and it cannot be determined by a word from others."
Eunuch Liang had already whispered to her about Yuan Wu's situation on the way here.
Three years ago, Ye Qiongying's father and brothers were all killed, and the Pingwu City army was leaderless and in chaos.
It just so happened that Yuan Wu, General Ye's former deputy general, took the initiative to step forward, gather the soldiers in the army, and appease the generals.
He is already a veteran in the Ye family army, so the effect he has shown is quite good.
In order to maintain the stability of Pingwu City, His Majesty symbolically gave him the title of Cavalry General of the fifth rank and let him temporarily take over the army in Pingwu City.
Ye Qiongying heard it, but she always felt something was wrong.
It's not because of Yuan Wu's control over the army, but...
This person made her feel a little strange.
After they met, Yuan Wu was very respectful to her, and he did not forget to express his loyalty to the Ye family in his words. Even his expression was grief-stricken. He was thin and dressed simply, looking like a competent military general.
On the contrary, Chen Xiong's image was problematic from the moment he appeared. Not only was he wearing a brocade robe that was not suitable for a military general, he also left the military camp in broad daylight. He was drunk and went to collect tolls. He was fat and strong, and he spoke without any control. Not only did he not mention his feelings for the Ye family, he also bluntly said that the dead are dead, and the living must live well.
But Ye Qiongying was closer to Chen Xiong and was even willing to call him uncle, but she couldn't get close to Yuan Wu.
She couldn't explain why, nor did she know if it had anything to do with the impression she had from her childhood.
Ye Qiongying also knew that one should not judge a person based on the first impression alone, so she did not reveal her thoughts and just observed silently.
But no matter how I look at it, it seems that Yuan Wu's constant claims of loyalty are just an intentional show with unclear purpose.
He said he was loyal to the Ye family, but when he knew that the emperor's envoy had arrived, he knelt down in front of her and said that the Ye family army would always be the Ye family army, as if he had directly broken away from the court and the emperor. Isn't this an allusion to the Ye family's rebellion and self-proclaimed king?
Just now, when that person spoke rudely, Yuan Wu did not immediately speak up to stop him. Instead, after Ye Qiongying took action, he suddenly revealed her identity.
It didn't seem like she was standing up for her. It seemed like she was deliberately using the identity of a girl from the Ye family to suppress the emotions of those people, which instead made the voices of opposition grow louder and louder.
In addition...
Yuan Wu had just arrived. When Ye Qiongying and the others arrived, he was still talking to these people.
It only took a few words to say that the angel had something to announce. Wasn't there any time to specifically mention that among the people brought by the angel there was a woman, the daughter of the Ye family, and that bad words could not be spoken?
The effect of making the identity clear at that time and revealing it now would be completely different, and the perception on Ye Qiongying would also be different.
Not sure if it was because she was scared by Yin Xu and Leng Qianqian in her previous life, but Ye Qiongying always felt that this man's every move was questionable.
But what if she was really overthinking it?
Moreover, falling out with others at this time would not be conducive to her entering the military camp, and would also cause other people to criticize the Ye family.
Compared with Yuan Wu, there are more other officers and soldiers in this army.
Therefore, Ye Qiongying chose to face the voices that opposed her identity as a woman first.
After hearing what she said, the people in the audience quickly responded:
"The Zhenjun General is indeed a heroine, and we all admire her. But how many Zhenjun Generals can there be in this world?
Not to mention others, even the Ye family has only produced this one, right?
Miss Ye, we naturally respect the Ye family, and we also respect your ancestors and father and brothers. Accordingly, we are willing to respectfully address you as Miss. However, this does not mean that we should believe that you are also the next general of the Zhenjun Army! "
"Yes! There are not so many women who can do that."
"Didn't the general of the Zhen Army return home and die afterwards? All those military achievements were earned with his life."
"It is said that the general of the Zhen Army is more than eight feet tall, stronger than the average man, and can lift a heavy sword without any problem. Miss Ye, you look so thin, you will be blown away by the wind! With your tiny arms and legs, can you hold a sword and chop people? Don't go to the battlefield and cry at the sight of blood, or else you will have to trouble the soldiers to sacrifice themselves to send you back."
……
Obviously, they knew the example of the Ye family's ancestors, but they did not believe that Ye Qiongying could restore the glory of her ancestors.
Ye Qiongying stood on the stage, not afraid, and said with her head held high:
"Whether you have the ability or not, let the facts speak for themselves."
Eunuch Liang also took action at the right time, pulling out a golden scroll of imperial edict from his sleeve and unfolding it in public.
Upon seeing the imperial edict, the people in the audience no longer bothered to debate with Ye Qiongying and knelt down to receive the order.
Yuan Wu, who was standing beside him, also knelt down.