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Chapter 653: Going to Die (Part )

After dark, the royal guards outside the prison were replaced by a new shift.

Liu Hengmao is on duty tonight, wearing silver soft armor and patrolling inside and outside the prison.

This coup was a disaster for the royal family, and the civil officials and military officers who died in the coup were all unlucky. The Princess of Nanyang was the biggest winner.

As for the Liu family, they had made their bets in advance. Liu Hengchang went to the Nanyang Palace to serve as a personal guard several years ago. In the past few years, Liu Hengchang has been training soldiers and has made a name for himself in the personal guard camp, earning him great favor from the princess. In the battle of Pingzhou, he defeated the Rouran army and became famous all over the world.

Liu Hengmao and Liu Hengchang were cousins ​​who kept exchanging letters. After the princess led troops into the palace to kill the rebels, Liu Hengmao did not hesitate to join the princess and thus became a follower of the emperor.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Liu Hengmao would be given important positions in the future. No matter where he led the troops, it would be much better than guarding the prison all day.

Although Liu Hengmao didn't say anything, he was thinking about this question in his mind.

What kind of job should he get in the future? Should he continue to stay in the Imperial Guards, or be transferred to another army? Or to the border army? If he could lead troops to fight the enemy, it would be great. A man should fight on the battlefield to achieve success. It is really boring to stay in the palace all day.

A royal guard hurried over and whispered a few words.

Liu Hengmao came back to his senses instantly and stepped forward quickly.

A group of tall and strong guards strode forward, escorting Princess Nanyang.

During the palace coup that day, Jiang Shaohua's personal guards suffered heavy casualties. Only more than 30 of the 200 personal guards survived, and several were seriously injured and were placed in the palace to recuperate.

After that, the princess kept a low profile and repaired her relationship with the Empress Dowager. Obviously, this was one of the important reasons.

Along with Lu Xuan's funeral, there were also a thousand Nanyang guards. These guards were all elite soldiers in the guard camp and were loyal to the princess. They were outstanding in their skills, and everyone was literate and could read military books. This was almost the standard for low-level military generals in the Liang Dynasty.

These 1,000 guards were directly used as imperial guards. With these 1,000 elite soldiers as guards, Jiang Shaohua had no worries. At this time, there were 200 people coming with her. The battle was magnificent and imposing.

"I greet the princess." The coronation ceremony had not yet taken place. Liu Hengmao was a cautious person and still addressed her as the princess.

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly: "This county lord wants to see the King of Dongping."

Empress Dowager Zheng had previously issued an oral order that no one was allowed to visit the Prince of Dongping. This oral order was effective for others, but it was naturally useless for the princess.

The whole world will belong to the princess. Where can she not go and who can she not meet?

Liu Hengmao accepted the order in a deep voice and led the way.

The two hundred guards stayed outside the prison, and only Song Yuan and Qin Hu followed Jiang Shaohua into the prison.

There was a candlestick every few steps in the prison, but it was still dim and exuded an uncomfortable chill.

Of course, this was much better than the environment in the Ministry of Justice. The princes were not tortured and could barely eat enough every day.

"Where are Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an?" Jiang Shaohua asked casually.

Liu Hengmao replied in a low voice: "My lord, the Prince of Huaiyang and the Prince of Wu'an are imprisoned separately, and they are interrogated separately every time, so they have no chance to meet the Prince of Dongping."

As they were talking, the prison cell of Prince Dongping and his son was already in front of them.

Liu Hengmao stepped forward, unlocked the iron lock, and opened the iron gate: "The princess has arrived, why don't you come and see her immediately!"

The Prince of Dongping struggled to get off the bed, hesitated for a moment between kneeling and cursing, but still did not move. The Prince of Dongping was even more frank, sitting beside the bed and smiling at Jiang Shaohua: "You are willing to come in person to see us off, you are a man of your word."

On the road?

Liu Hengmao was startled, and resisted the urge to look at the princess. He silently took two steps back and stood side by side with Song Yuan.

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "In terms of blood relationship, I should call you uncle. It is only natural for me to send you off."

Prince Dongping laughed: "Poisoned wine or white silk, give us father and son a quick death."

Of these two ways of dying, leaving no scars and an intact body is the most dignified way to die.

The Prince of Dongping's face was pale and his legs were shaking. Was his life coming to an end?

He really doesn't want to die.

His legs softened and he finally knelt down, speaking incoherently, and he himself did not know what he was saying.

Jiang Shaohua did not look at the Prince of Dongping, and the Prince of Dongping was too lazy to look at his son who had revealed his ugly behavior. He said to Jiang Shaohua: "The Empress Dowager has been forced to give in temporarily due to the situation. There will definitely be a day of backlash in the future. You still have to be more careful."

Jiang Shaohua and King Dongping looked at each other: "Uncle, don't worry, I know all this."

Prince Dongping nodded and said, "Sitting on the throne is only the first step. Next, you have to completely control the government. There is always a game between the monarch and his subjects. You can't just be kind and gentle. When it's time to use thundering measures, you must not be soft-hearted. Only in this way can you make the ministers fear you and respect you."

Jiang Shaohua replied: "I have taken note of what my uncle said."

The Prince of Dongping seemed to have opened a floodgate and spoke nonstop: "Emperor Taikang was weak and often ill, so he had to rely on Prime Minister Wang to govern the country, and all matters in the palace were decided by the Empress Dowager. As a result, there were the Prime Minister's Party and the Empress Dowager's Party in the court. When Emperor Taihe ascended the throne, the two parties competed fiercely, vying for power and forming cliques for personal gain, causing chaos in the court."

"I have been holding my breath. How can such a mediocre and cowardly person be qualified to sit on the throne and rule the world? I am also a descendant of the Jiang family. If I were to sit on the throne, I would be ten or a hundred times better than them."

"Even if Jiang Yi were to take the throne, he would still be much stronger than Jiang Song."

"In the end, Jiang Song and I both lost."

"If you fail in a rebellion, you will die. I have no complaints. I am very happy to know that the throne has fallen into your hands."

"Shaohua! After you sit on the throne, you must suppress the civil and military officials and govern the country with all your heart. Kill the Rouran barbarians until their blood flows like a river, so that they dare not invade the border of Daliang again."

"Away from foreign enemies, the country can be stable. In the future, we will reduce or exempt land taxes, severely punish a group of corrupt officials, and promote new grains with high yields, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment and have a good life."

"On that day, you, the Queen of Daliang, will be a truly wise ruler throughout the ages! Only then will our Jiang family's kingdom be stable and permanent."

The Prince of Dongping became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Who could have thought that the person who truly understood her aspirations and ambitions was the unforgivable traitor in front of her?

Jiang Shaohua nodded solemnly and then signaled Song Yuan with his eyes.

Song Yuan nodded, went out for a moment, and came back with a wine jug.

The King of Dongping laughed loudly, picked up the wine pot and poured it into his mouth. After taking two big gulps, he stuffed the wine pot into his son's mouth and said, "Don't cry, drink it happily, and go to hell with your father."

……